Latest news with #PaveenaHongsakulFoundationforChildrenandWomen
The Star
03-07-2025
- The Star
Neglected boy, eight, raised by dogs in Thailand ‘didn't speak, just barked'
The eight-year-old boy, his mother and older brother at their home in northern Thailand. - Photo: Handout BANGKOK: An eight-year-old boy, abandoned in the company of his family's six dogs for years in Thailand, could communicate only by barking, authorities found when they turned up to check on him in response to reports from a local school principal and child activist. The boy had not been to school in two years despite his mother receiving about 400 baht (US$12) in government education support funds to enrol him in classes, according to news site Khaosod English. Neighbours said the 46-year-old would beg for money and food at local villages and temples, leaving her son with only the dogs for company at their single-storey wooden house in northern Thailand's Uttaradit province. Authorities raided the crumbling stilt house on Monday after a local school principal contacted politician and activist Paveena Hongsakul with her concerns. They found the child living with his mother and 23-year-old brother, both of whom tested positive for drugs. 'He didn't speak, he just barked. It was pitiful to see,' said Paveena, president of the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation for Children and Women, who led the rescue effort alongside local police. The boy, who had never been to kindergarten, had visited the school once when he reached Grade 1 age but had not been allowed to return. 'His mother hasn't allowed him to go to school since he received a subsidy for free education. After getting the money, she simply kept him at home,' Paveena said. - South China Morning Post
News18
03-07-2025
- News18
‘He Didn't Speak, He Barked': Shocking Case Of Neglected Thai Boy Goes Viral
The situation came to light when a school principal and a child rights activist raised concerns about the boy's condition. An eight-year-old boy in Thailand was found living alone with six dogs after being abandoned by his family for years. With no one else around him, the child learned to bark like the dogs. He had no access to school, social life or basic care. The situation came to light when a school principal and a child rights activist raised concerns about the boy's condition. According to a report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the boy had been out of school for two years. But his mother had continued receiving a government education subsidy of about 400 baht (approximately Rs 1,050) meant to support his schooling. The funds were reportedly never used to enrol him in classes. According to neighbours, the boy's 46-year-old mother would often go out to beg for food and money in nearby villages and temples. She would leave the child alone at home, a small wooden house in Uttaradit province, northern Thailand. His only companions during this time were the six dogs kept by the family. Authorities visited the house after the school principal reached out to activist and politician Paveena Hongsakul. The home, built on stilts, was in very poor condition. Inside the house, police found the boy with his mother and his 23-year-old brother. Both adults tested positive for drug use. The child had been left alone and not looked after. 'He didn't speak, he just barked. It was pitiful to see," said Paveena, who is also the president of the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation for Children and Women. She led the rescue operation with local police. Officials said the boy had never attended kindergarten. He had once visited school at the age of Grade 1, but was never sent back. 'His mother hasn't allowed him to go to school since he received a subsidy for free education. After getting the money, she simply kept him at home," Paveena said. People in the neighbourhood also avoided letting their children play with the boy. They said they were disturbed by the family's behaviour. Without human contact, the child grew close to the dogs and started mimicking them. Barking became his way of communication. 'The house is in a red zone for drugs. The boy had no one, just the dogs to play with," said a local teacher as quoted by SCMP. The boy's mother and brother have now been charged with drug use and taken in for treatment. The child has been moved to a nearby children's shelter. Paveena's foundation is working with officials to make sure he gets proper schooling and long-term care.
Mint
02-07-2025
- Mint
Raised by dogs, this 8-year-old child doesn't know how to speak; he barks, ‘The boy had no one'
An interesting story has emerged from Thailand, where an 8-year-old boy was technically 'raised' by his family dogs. The child was found living only with his family's six dogs. He could not speak but only bark to communicate. Neighbours kept their children away due to the family's strange behaviour. Isolated by his family, the boy had no human company. So, he copied the dogs, barking and playing like them. The boy did not go to school for two years even though his mother received government funds for his education. Neighbours said she often begged for food, leaving the boy alone at home, the South China Morning Post reported. 'The house is in a red zone for drugs. The boy had no one, just the dogs to play with,' one local teacher said. Authorities visited the poor wooden house in Uttaradit province after a school principal raised concerns. They found the boy with his mother and elder brother, who both tested positive for drugs. The family lived in a drug-prone area, and both his mother and brother have been charged with drug use. The child was completely neglected, with no proper care or education, shocking local officials and the community. 'He didn't speak, he just barked. It was pitiful to see,' SCMP quoted Paveena, the president of the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation for Children and Women, as saying. Paveena, accompanied by local police, led the rescue effort. His mother stopped sending him to school after taking money meant for his free education. 'His mother hasn't allowed him to go to school since he received a subsidy for free education. After getting the money, she simply kept him at home,' the publication quoted Paveena as saying. The boy is now safe in a children's shelter, receiving care and support. Officials and a child welfare foundation are working to give him proper education and help him live a normal life. They promise to make sure the child gets all the help he needs to grow and adjust well to society after such a difficult start in life. Paveena said, 'The boy will be given a chance at a good life. We'll follow up with him to make sure he gets everything he needs.' Ukrainian girl Oxana Malaya was raised by stray dogs after her alcoholic parents left her outside at age 3. In her poor village, she found warmth and care with the animals. Treated like one of their own, she stopped speaking and started barking, growling and walking on all fours. She copied the dogs completely. She ate raw meat, licked herself clean and used her tongue to drink water. 'Mom had too many kids; we didn't have enough beds. So, I crawled to the dog and started living with her,' Malaya, now 41, told '60 Minutes Australia' in 2024.
