Aunt wants help for mentally challenged nephew

3388968

At 47 years old, Mukesh Sinanan, fondly called Jerrico, has the body of an adult but the mind of a child.

Under the care of his aunt since his parents died, Sinanan has been living in inhumane conditions, but his aunt wants to make him more comfortable, particularly with Christmas coming next month.

“All I want is to get his house repaired and for him to have a nice little home for Christmas,” said his aunt Radica Baljohn at her Mount Stewart Village, Princes Town home on Wednesday.

Sinanan lives in his own house with his older brother, next to his aunt’s house, but the wooden structure is literally falling apart. It has no electricity or running water.

When Guardian Media visited, clutters of bottles and paper, as well as dirty clothes, littered the floor.

When asked why the house was so messy, Baljohn said Sinanan has it in that condition and his brother “like he fed up” so he doesn’t clean up.

She said Sinanan’s parents died decades ago and he is an outpatient of the Psychiatric Clinic at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Baljohn, a retired geriatric nurse, explained that Sinanan is now totally dependent on her.

“Every month I does take him to the doctor and hire a car to take him to the clinic and from the clinic. I does give him his medication twice a day. I does give him meals three times a day. I does wash his clothes. I does trim him. I does shave him,” she said.”

She said her nephew cannot engage in a proper conversation or speak properly.

“He born like that. They send him to school, he could not take education. He used to misbehave. He used to run away from the home so that is why I had to take him to the doctor and then the doctor say how he not well in his head. So that is why they ask me to bring him to the doctor every month because if I don’t do that, he will run away and I will get in trouble.”

She said her nephew could be stubborn at times and upkeeping his home has proven to be an uphill battle for her. Baljohn said she applied to the Ministry of Social Development for a grant to repair his home but was turned down because he receives a disability grant. She said this is why she is making a public appeal for help. Anyone willing to assist can contact 655-4449 or 312-8576.