Mother of 12 Fears Losing Children Over Desperate Living Conditions

A mother of 12 in Princes Town says her appeal for help has taken a troubling turn, as she now fears some of her children could be removed from her care because of the family’s difficult living conditions.

Sabrina Khadoo and her family have been living in a roadside vegetable stall along the Naparima-Mayaro Road, which has been converted into a makeshift home.

Her situation recently gained public attention after she appealed for assistance in securing better accommodation for her family. Following the publicity, the Children’s Authority visited Khadoo and assessed the circumstances in which the family is living.

Khadoo said she was subsequently informed that the conditions could result in her children being removed from her care, something she desperately hopes will not happen.

She maintains that despite the family’s financial and housing difficulties, she has worked hard to ensure her children are cared for, fed and educated.

Khadoo said her school-aged children attend classes consistently, while her daughters perform well academically. She also stressed that the children are kept clean, fed and fully immunised.

The mother said she has been struggling to hold the family together since the death of her husband, while trying to provide for the children with limited resources.

Her original appeal centred on finding safer and more suitable housing for the family, whose vegetable stall currently serves the dual purpose of providing an income and shelter.

The intervention by the Children’s Authority has now added another layer of uncertainty to the family’s situation.

Khadoo says she does not want her children placed in institutional care and hopes authorities and members of the public can instead help the family secure suitable accommodation.

The situation highlights the difficult balance between ensuring children are living in safe conditions and supporting parents experiencing severe financial hardship.

For Khadoo, the immediate priority remains finding a safer place for her family to live while keeping her children together.