Living home alone
10 May 2013 03:08 pm
Two brothers who were found to be living all by themselves in a house in Badulla are seen preparing their meal when the officers from the Badulla Police Women and Children’s Bureau took them into their custody. Inset: Brothers were going for School.
Pix by Prasad Rukmal
Two brothers aged nine and six, who were found to be living by all by themselves in a house at Wineethagama in Viyadiguna were taken into custodial care by the Badulla Police Women and Children’s Bureau.
Their father had deserted them some time ago while their mother who was employed at the Colombo National Hospital is said to visit them occasionally to provide them with a few provisions before going back to work.
They are students of the Viyadiguna School in Wineethagama.
According to investigations, the nine-year-old wakes up early in morning to light up the hearth and prepare meals for the two of them. He is also known to wash and clean up the younger brother before going to school together.
This was confirmed by Viyadiguna School Principal the Ven. Dhammarathana Thera. He said they are in school by 7.00 a.m. Their neighbours are also known to help them out whenever necessary.
Police said their eldest brother aged 12 and a 6-year-old sister are living in Badulupitiya with their grandmother.
The Badulla Women’s Bureau took these two children under their care after being informed of their plight by a school teacher. The Women’s Bureau OIC Nadeeka Peiris, Badulla Probation Officer Padmasiri Yapa and the police officers who visited the house said the children appeared to be destitute and found the remnants of their meals prepared overnight in some clay pots.
The Ven. Dhammarathana Thera said the children’s mother had on several occasions applied for a transfer to the Badulla Hospital, but the authorities had ignored her request. The police said the children would be produced in courts before being sent for probationary care.
Further investigations are continuing under Badulla acting HQI Jayantha De Silva