Disabled girl rescued by stranger after being sold to gang and forced to beg on street

Disabled girl rescued by stranger after being sold to gang and forced to beg on street

Mangalore Today News Network

Oct 13, 2017: A severely disfigured girl was forced to beg as a slave on the streets by traffickers before being rescued by a kindhearted stranger.

The five-year-old, who suffers from a rare genetic condition, was regularly beaten with a stick to make her cry in order to evoke sympathy from passersby.

The girl, known only as Anabelle, was then made to ask strangers for money on the streets of the Philippines.

She lived as a slave and all the money she made was taken by drug dealers who held her captive.

But she was given a new lease of life after an organisation who rescues little boys and girls caught up in child exploitation stepped in to help.

Her story touched the heart of Gonzalo Erize, an Argentian who worked for the Kalipay Negrense Foundation.

He became Anabelle’s friend and stood by her side while she had surgery to ease the effects of Crouzon Syndrome.

Gonzalo said: ‘The people in charge of his care told me that she woke up at night, shouting from the nightmares from the past.

‘But I was there ready to give Anabelle the opportunity of a better life, where she could play without pain and live worthily.’

Little Anabelle was born into poverty in Bacolod city – ironically, called as the ‘City of Smiles’ – on the northwest coast of Negros Island in the Philippines.

Her mother could not care for Anabelle and her six siblings so she sold the little girl to a drugs gang.

They took advantage of Anabelle’s appearance after the Crouzon Syndrome left her with bulging eyes.

The condition, also called congenital craniofacial dysostosis is characterised by malformations of the skull which limit the development of the face and brain.

Anabelle was unable to close her eyes in order to sleep which left her constantly exhausted.

On the streets she was accompanied by a woman who pretended to be her mother.

This woman was burnt repeatedly by the gang before being sent out to beg for money.

The pair were moved from one city to another by traffickers to prevent police from locating them.

But Anabelle was eventually rescued becoming one of around 200 children helped by the Kalipay Negrense Foundation.

Anabelle was treated by paediatricians, dentists and neurologists in the Philippine capital of Manila, who decided she needed urgent surgery.

Courtesy: metro.co