– Was taken from mother for neglect
A mother is blaming the system for the death of her nine-year-old daughter who was killed in an accident at an orphanage in Berbice.
Dead is Neena Blaire,9, formally of Edingburg, East Bank Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). At the time of the accident, Blaire was at the Alpha Children’s Home located at 34 Gay Park, Greater New Amsterdam.
According to reports, the little girl was playing in the front yard on Christmas Eve when a male teenager, who also resides at the home, started one of the two cars which was parked in the facility’s compound.
The teen allegedly drove the car around the yard and at some point, put the vehicle in reverse. However, instead of pressing the brake, he put his foot on the accelerator. Reports are that the vehicle hit Blaire and she fell.
The child, not seriously injured, got up but, as the car continued to reverse, it hit out one of the banisters on the step and one of the spindles hit the child to the ground. The banister then fell, crushing the nine-year-old.
This publication understands that the caretaker of the home was out at the time of the accident.The child was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital in a taxi.
Neena Blaire and her two sisters were placed in the Alpha Children’s Home after the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) got involved following reports in the media of alleged child neglect.
The dead girl’s mother, Venus Lalloo, also called “Anita”, was placed before the court for child neglect. The mother of 13 was fined $350,000 with an alternative of six months imprisonment. Four of her children were removed from her, including a baby.
Lalloo could not pay the fine and was imprisoned. However, the Social Protection Ministry intervened and after three weeks, the fine was paid and the domestic worker was released from prison.
Speaking with this publication, the distraught mother said she was working when two persons from the CCPA came to her place of work and told her that they had some sad news for her.
According to Lalloo, when she saw the officers from the Agency, she was of the view that they were there to talk to her about her baby, which she expected to be reunited with her.
She said it was also one of her daughters’ birthday and she was expecting good news.
“I blame the Child Protection Agency and the whole system for putting me in jail for something that was not so and for taking away the children. They did not listen to me at the Child Protection Agency; now they come to tell me that my child that they take from me dead. When they tell me that she pass away in Georgetown, I start to holler and the lady from upstairs run downstairs because I start to hit the post,” the frustrated mother said.
Meanwhile, when this publication contacted one of the caretakers of Alpha Home, she declined to offer a comment, only saying that she was very traumatised by what happened. “I am not in the frame of mind to say anything on the matter. The keys were apparently left in the vehicle for some time now, waiting on the mechanic to come and fix it.”
According to a Police source, the teenage boy is currently in Police custody assisting with investigations. Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination is expected to be performed on Blaire’s body this morning. (Andrew Carmichael: Guyana Times)
