MISHPACHAH– TO LOVE & BELONG
When I first met Kumara he was 10 years old boy who has been in Child Development centers since the age of two. He was given to us at LEADS. The child was known as a boy with none to call his own .The child had gone neglect and mental trauma. From the age of two to fourteen, he was in 14 different CDCs. Due to his mentality & fighting with other children the child was sent from place to place with a damaged personality. Therefore, the education too was messed & the child could not even write his own name even at 14 years. I kept motivating the child to study & more importantly to instil in him the right values with self-worth to believe in himself.
I received information from the Judiciary there was a legal case about a mother which seemed to match up with the child. The child’s name was tied to a lady who was in Prison. This made me go to the prison since we at Leads have acceptance and therefore, received permission from the prison. In the prison there was a discovery & I spoke to the mother & her current 4th husband. The mother acknowledged the child Kumara as hers & that he was born in prison. Thankfully, her current husband was willing to acknowledge that she had a child who was now following a course to be an electrician which we persuaded him to follow and it was a 1 ½ year course. Kumara was 18 years and he was able to meet with the mother. When the child saw the mother he at once believed this was my mother. It was a very tearful moment giving me happiness of another successful case!!
I knew, years of hard work has paid off!! The investment various persons at Leads made has brought in results!! The mother was happy to take the child to her home & the child too was happy to meet the family. Though the father was not the biological father, Kumara made a decision to live with the new family. Kumara is earning Rs. 45,000/= for a month as an electrician.
Though our case is considered closed his connection to LEADS is not over since he considers Leads as his family!! He called me to say that he has a girlfriend & intend getting married after two years. LEADS is an organization that Kumara says that he will never forget for bringing him to society, giving him a place in life & uniting him with his family!! He can never stop thanking and his mother says she will never forget the work carried out by LEADS. Through this it is clear that a child who had no hope was able to find meaning & to live as a useful citizen in Sri Lanka.
This was just one case handled and as a Family Follow up staffer, handles about 25-30 cases per year.
