THE Ministry of Social Protection has stepped forward and rewarded seven-year-old Kissun Henry for her bravery in saving her four-year-old brother after their Glasgow New Housing Scheme home caught fire.

The gift was presented to Kissan by Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with Responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott, during a simple ceremony at Edinburg Primary School–the school the girl attends.

Donette Henry, grandmother of the child, told Guyana Chronicle that while she is grateful that no life was lost during the incident on February 5, she is saddened by the fact that her daughter, Kemila, was ordered by the Child Welfare Department not to make contact with the children. The minors are now in her care.

Henry said her daughter, who is a ‘drug addict’, needs professional help so that she can be employed and provide proper care and supervision for her children.
“My daughter attended Vryman’s Erven Secondary. Because of financial challenges, she did not get to write CXC. But she is not naïve…. She needs help, not separation from her children. That will do more harm than good,” the mother contended.

The 24-year-old mother had left her two under-aged children at home unsupervised.
After the incident, she returned home in a taxi, but fled on seeing authorities, who were regular visitors to her home

Two days later, she was found at a known ‘drug yard’ at St Ann Street, in New Amsterdam, Berbice, and was handed over to the police.
She was charged with child neglect and appeared in the New Amsterdam Court where she was placed on $50,000 bail and ordered to return for trial on March 26.