Child in the village of Padiyatalawa ... who eats clay!

Child in the village of Padiyatalawa ... who eats clay!

Information about a child of a poverty-stricken family in Moradeniya grama niladhari division in Padiyatalawa provincial secretariat division is consuming clay on the walls of the house is reported. Nobody in the family has any permanent income as such and have fallen into this serious helpless state and on certain days they starve in hunger with their eldest daughter is in an ailing
condition and is taking clay on the walls of the house as her meals, it is said. 

On questioning about this, that daughter's mother, Mrs. B.M. Ramyalatha (32) said this: "We are very poor. There is no permanent income for me or my husband. We live with great difficulties. There are two children ... a son and daughter. We look after our meals each day with utmost difficulty. If we eat in the morning ... nothing for the afternoon. On some days when they ask for food .. as there is nothing to be given ... what I do is send the children to sleep early. 

The eldest child is a girl. She eats soil on the walls of the house. Sometimes she gets up from her sleep and scrapes the walls and eats. Don't know whether she eats like that for hunger or for some sickness. All over the house there are places where she has scraped and eaten soil. (Saying so she showed us those places)". 

They live at the address of 73/3, Kolonayaya, Serankada in a wattle and daub small house thatched up with a metal or tin roof. The father, Mr. N.W. Dharmadasa (46) says that his 12 year old daughter does not go to school and though she followed studies upto the 6th year in school .. after that her schooling stopped  and that he is unaware as to what sickness she is suffering from. He further said: "We have no proper place to live as such. What I want is to make this dwelling. I ask somebody to help us. I have no permanent income. We live in absolute difficulty with the two children and wife. Walls of this house is about to come down. It's a big thing if support is given to make a house. In the same way I ask that a 'pin padi' card  be made for our children".

- Sandaru Bandara -