THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM overwhelmed with concern for the treatment of customers at the Adoption Board. I have been adopted from birth for more than 20 years now and a problem has been occurring under my nose to the best of my knowledge.
Child Services from that department has entered my date of birth as a certain date in November, but they told my adopted mother a certain date in September. I have been using the September date from as early as I can remember and it wasn't until recently when I went to seek my passport that I realised that a typographical error made by the Clerk of Court at Spanish Town Court was going to end up in an everlasting court case just to get the error in the date amended.
From December 2000 I have been pressing my Adoption Officer to put forward my case and it is was not until now, in the midst of a burn-out at Spanish Town Court, that my case has finally reached the Judge's Chambers with the hope that the judge will grant permission for the amendment.
Some of you might say then what is the 'big deal'? The 'big deal' is the fact that I am almost 20 years old and I have no form of identification. I have no passport up until this time and I cannot obtain a National ID. I also have the dream too of driving, but can I drive? No, because I cannot get my driver's licence until the discrepancy in my date of birth is corrected. Who knows how long I will have to wait until these things are corrected. I will be travelling by the bus for a long time, not to mention walking in the shadows of my biological mother's decision.
To those of you who wish to adopt children, my advice is to get things sorted at the Adoption Board for the child before he/she gets too old and these discrepancies become a sort of embarrassment.
I am, etc.,
SARA-LOU
MORGAN-WALKER
angel_flame2000
@yahoo.com
Washington Gardens
Kingston 20
