The children whose ages range from 1 year, 3 months to 14 years were found at Siberien, commonly called Old England, a mined-out area which is approximately four miles from the bauxite town of Linden.
Child Care and Protection Officer Amril Beckles said that she received an anonymous call from a female indicating that the children were left on their own for more than two months and their parents Ann Bacchus and Rupert Ross had left for an interior location.
At the time five of the children were at home being attended to by the eldest, a 14-year-old girl, while the 7th, a 12-year-old boy was found some distance in the community sitting under a shed all by himself. They barely had any clothes on their backs.
The three-year- old boy had no clothes of his own and it was an uphill task to convince an older brother to lend him a piece of clothing.
According to Beckles, Bacchus and Ross returned recently and said that they did not abandon their children but had left them in the care of their eldest sibling and an adult relative.
“I listened to them and they had an authentic story so I am working with them to eventually have the kids returned to them,” said Beckles.
The parents reported that they had seen the articles in the newspapers and had heard that they were wanted but they did not have the money to return until now. They said that they were trying really hard to raise enough cash to construct a safe home.
“Ann really missed her kids and the reunion was heart touching, the children are very happy that their parents are around now,” added Beckles.
The children are still in the care of a Good Samaritan close to their pervious home and according to Beckles, their new caregiver is faced with some challenges that could result in the children being placed in another home, and the child care officer is now grappling with this situation.
Bacchus and Ross have only been able to lay the foundation for the construction of a two-bedroom house since their return and are desperate in their efforts to have it completed to avoid their children being placed in another home away from them.
“They are willing to work with me, they have to visit the office twice a week and I will be checking them but the children would not be placed with them until I am satisfied that they are doing what I am saying,” Beckles said.
They are hoping that they could put the house in a habitable condition within two months and thereby transform their lives from when they lived under a tent.
Bacchus said that she will attempt rearing live birds as a source of income, a job which would not require her leaving her children at home alone.
In this regard the Child Care Unit said they would ensure that the family gets public assistance while the father would be returning to the interior to continue seeking a livelihood.
The place the children called home was a tarpaulin that was held up by a few wattles, while a few zinc sheets were used to create a wall.
However, there were no doors nor windows so the children were left open to the wilds, the weather and any likely human intrusion.
In the meantime, their grandmother lived in the area but said that she was ailing and couldn’t assist the children in any way.
She lives in a well built two-bedroom wooden house but because of poor health she has never seen the circumstances under which the children existed. For her, watching them being whisked away by child care and police officers was the hardest thing.
