A female teacher recently took to her Facebook and shared her encounter with a young mother who had to leave her children at the staircase of a shop next to a supermarket while she was working.
Heard child’s cry from the staircase
The teacher said that while she was at the supermarket to buy items, she suddenly heard a child’s cry from the staircase of the shop next to the supermarket.
Following the cry, she found five children left in the corner of the staircase, with the eldest 7-year-old girl being her student.
“The child was crying incessantly due to hunger, which made me feel heartbroken,” she wrote.
“At that moment, I could only try to console the child through the metal grill, but it was not enough to calm the child’s emotions.”
“When I entered the supermarket, I found the child’s mother working there and hurriedly told her that her child had been crying at the staircase.”
Unexpectedly, the mother merely told the teacher:
“It’s okay, the child is like that. Because nobody feeds her, she keeps crying. It’s already a usual occurrence. Teacher, don’t be too heartbroken.”
Shocked to find the mother’s response
The teacher found it difficult to comprehend the mother’s response but felt sad for being unable to help.
The teacher further revealed that the mother was forced to work in the supermarket to support her family after being abandoned by her husband.
“With no one at home to take care of the children, she had no choice but to bring all five children to the staircase next to the supermarket to ‘accompany’ her while she worked,” she wrote.
She revealed that while the woman was working, her 7-year-old daughter had to act as a ‘nanny’, helping to take care of her four siblings.
Child fell asleep on the spot
Before leaving the supermarket, she returned to the staircase and found that the crying child had fallen asleep on the spot due to exhaustion.
The teacher once again relayed the situation to the child’s mother, who replied,
“It’s okay. Once I finish my work, I will go and comfort the child.”
Netizens also expressed sympathy for the woman’s plight, and some even offered to help, asking the teacher how to find her.
Some netizens hoped that this tragic story could attract the attention of the government, particularly the Social Welfare Department, to help the family through their difficult times.
