Man-U is nearly 7-years old and has been in care since he was two. As a baby he lived with his grandparents, his mother and his stepfather in the east suburbs of Bangkok. The family of 5 lived in one small room and could barely make ends meet. Shortly before his second birthday, his mother had a daughter with her new husband. With an extra mouth to feed and the family was unable to continue caring for Man-U and so his mother took him to a local orphanage and asked that they care for him.
Man-U has a learning disability and impaired vision. The orphanage staff were unable to meet his needs as they had no experience in caring for children with disabilities. Man-U was left unstimulated and was not reaching his full potential, so the orphanage contacted Rainbow House, who took Man-U to their specialist rehabilitation centre and welcomed him to the family.
Contact is still maintained with Man-U’s family. His grandmother visits and in the school holidays he often spends time with his mother. She is pleased to see how well he is doing and hopes, one day, she will be in a better position to support him.
Man-U has been at Rainbow House ever since and is going from strength to strength. At Rainbow House, he received physical therapy and learnt to walk, he has worked with a special education to prepare him for school – and now he is enrolled in mainstream school and doing fantastically well – he is even learning to speak English!
Man-U’s story is an example of material poverty forcing families to sacrifice guardianship of a child with disabilities. Luckily for Man-U he found a home at Rainbow House. You can help to build stronger families and support children like Man U.