Kandhamal: At a time when a child should be full of spirit, fun and friends, Gouraj Pradhan, a four year and three month old child of Jhidingbala village under Daringbadi block of Kandhamal district keeps to himself and shies away from crowd and school thinking that his abnormal condition will only make him a laughing stock.
Gouraj has been suffering from a rare condition in which a child develops sudden symptoms resembling aspects of ageing like hair growth all over his body and face.
This abnormality has made him shy away from public and even avoid anganwadi where his other friends go to study.
“It was not like that always,” Gouraj’s father Goutam laments, saying his child was like any other normal healthy kid “but all of a sudden everything changed and he (Gouraj) developed the abnormality," he says.
Goutam, the bread earner of the family of four others including three children, finds it difficult to provide even basic requirements let alone think about treatment of Gouraj.
“We are poor and cannot afford his treatment. If we can get some government assistance then we would be highly grateful,” says Goutam.
On the other hand local administration has assured that all arrangements are being made to help Gouraj and his family.
“After coming to know about the condition of Gouraj, I have sought a local doctor's advice on finding the exact cause of the abnormality. Besides, we are also trying to provide his family necessary entitlements like Ration card and puccca house under PMAY scheme,” Daringbadi BDO Trilochan Patra said.