DANIEL Dilchand, 12, of 619 ‘C’ Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was yesterday presented with  much needed clothing, footwear and basic toiletries by Pandit Suresh Sugrim, President of the New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir, Inc.
The presentation was made yesterday to the teen at his home, in the presence of his mother, Surujdai (only name given) and he expressed much thanks to Pandit Sugrim and his team for the kind gesture.
Daniel’s case is engaging the Child Care and Protection Agency. Daniel, who is confined to a wheelchair, may soon be placed in a foster home where he would benefit from the proper medical and personal care he craves.
Daniel’s mother is a single parent of three boys, and does not mind getting assistance, even if this means having her son in foster care.
Pandit Sugrim visited Daniel’s home and got a first-hand look at the deplorable conditions in which the child lives.
He told the Guyana Chronicle that once the child is removed from the current environment, he and his  organisation will provide monthly support. During a visit on Friday by Pandit Sugrim, the child was at home with two other children, who said they are friends, and his step-father, who was intoxicated. Pandit Sugrim noted that the child needs urgent medical attention since he appears to be undernourished and weak.
Daniel currently lives with his mother and two other siblings in a small wooden shack which has only one bed.
He was gifted a wheelchair last month and is a student of Tucville Secondary School.
Daniel became paralysed after he was beaten in the back with a ‘scrubbing board’ (a board used for washing clothes) by a woman, with whom he was staying. Daniel said that about three years ago, his mother gave him away to the woman, who also resides in Sophia, and while there he was often physically assaulted.