Handicapped girl needs help, biological mum urged to call
MIRI: A physically handicapped girl, 15, not only has to endure the pain of not being able to walk properly but she also does not have an identity card and birth certificate which have kept her out of school, prompting her adopted family to tutor her at home.
Abandoned when she was barely a month old, she is cared for by her adopted family who are saddened by the fact that their previous attempts to obtain the important documents for her have all failed.
She was identified simply as Rosita when left at Miri Hospital over 15 years ago, and a childless couple readily took her and look after her, showering her and another adopted son with love and care.
Depong @ Apong Liau, 54, and his wife Doris Luntai, 51, of Happy Garden, are appealing to the biological mother of their adopted daughter, Daphine, or anyone who knows her whereabouts to contact them at 017- 8519447.
“Daphine really needs help to get her birth cert, IC and OKU card done. That is why we need her biological mother to contact us as soon as possible as she is the key,” said Doris.
This would open the doors to proper medical care and physiotherapy, welfare aid, education and training which are presently denied to her due to her current ‘stateless’ status.
The St Columba’s Church Urban Ministry Emmanuel Unit is currently assisting the family to sort out the documentation process while Doris has lodged a report at the Miri Central Police Station seeking assistance to trace the biological mother.
The ministry has been assisting the family in liaising with the National Registration Department, Welfare Department, Miri Hospital and other relevant agencies to comply with the legal requirements and procedures.
Daphine never attends formal education but her adopted mother and many caring mothers have tried to teach her at home.
She only has a child clinic card which places her date of birth as March 13, 2001, and details of her record states that she was born prematurely at only 1.5kg.
Depong is a logistic coordinator in the private sector while Doris is an assistant teacher in a kindergarten.
The ministry’s chairman, Charles Soo, brought the plight of this family to the attention of The Borneo Post and hoped the public could help Daphine in getting her hands on the much needed birth certificate, a pre-requisite to obtain identity card and OKU identification card to open doors .
The Welfare Department meanwhile has been unable to provide any assistance due to the lack of proper identification documents while officials at the National Registration Department have advised the family to try to trace the biological mother to get the proper identification.
Depong said they had tried ways and means in the past to get this vital registration but were unsuccessful.
The couple continues to care and love her despite her handicap. Her adopted brother Gary Alvin is her pillar of support at home.
The family continues to pray that Daphine’s plight would be over soon.
Daphine really needs help to get her birth cert, IC and OKU card done. That is why we need her biological mother to contact us as soon as possible as she is the key. Doris Luntai, mother