A child, who is said to have been neglected by its mother and was placed in the custody of two legal guardians by the Magistrate’s Court, is growing up well and is assured of a happy and productive life now and in the future.

L-R: Geraldine James, Brianna Harrigan and Leischo Richardson

The child, Brianna Harrigan, made two years on Thursday, September 8. Her guardians, Leischo Richardson and Geraldine James, who adore her greatly, threw a party for the bouncing baby girl to which they invited many children and their mothers. The two young women, caring for the child, are best friends living at Blowing Point and are employed at Malliouhana Hotel and Spa.

The birthday party was held at Sandy Ground at the residence of Leischo Richardson’s mother who looks after little Brianna when the guardians are at work.

Speaking about how she and her friend became the legal guardians, Leischo, cradling the child in her arms, said: “Brianna Harrigan was neglected as a baby so my friend and I decided to take her mother to court to get custody of the child so that we could take care of her because the mother could not afford to do so.”

“How do you know that the child was neglected?” She was asked.

The birthday party celebrants

“Because we live around there and the mother was our neighbour,” Leischo replied. “We wanted to help the child and at that time she was four and a half months; she was neglected, didn’t have a name; didn’t have a birth certificate; didn’t have her baby shots or anything. So she was really neglected. At four and a half months she was still a newborn baby. She was very far behind and was not doing anything that a four and a half month child was supposed to be doing. Since we got her, we took her to the doctor, got her named and got a birth certificate. Looking at her right now, she is fit and healthy and we all are now celebrating her second birthday.”

Leischo explained that she and her friend, Geraldine James, first took up the matter of the neglected baby with the Department of Social Development. The three parties then carried the child’s mother to court to secure the legal guardianship.

Leischo said the mother has visitation rights but charged that the woman, who has other children and has since married and has another child, does not visit Brianna.

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