hey , i am 15. And i have 3 cousins, elder of 12 and other twins of 9. They are intelligent. And very much interested in studies. But the 'sad' part is, they dont go to school, even they love going to school. The only reason is their drunkard father. He wants to get them admitted in a "richi school", and tells he may let them go to school only when he had enough to afford their richi school and does not allow my cousins to attend the near by government school.Their father drinks every day and spanks them, hits them and scolds them for each and every reason . My cousins shared their sorrow with me and my sis. Once I tried to join them in my school but my uncle[ my cousin's father] spanked them and forced them back home. My cousins are not able to withstand their father's harshness, and want to run away from house. They ask me for help, I dont understand what to do...... please tell me how can i help my cousins................?????????????
Sam
Hi there,
Thanks for your message.
I can hear how concerned for your cousins you are and Im feeling concerned too. It sounds like your uncle is abusive towards them in lots of different ways and that its making their life very hard at the moment. Nobody has the right to hurt them and they have a right to get an education and to be happy.
It sounds like when theyve asked you for help its left you feeling unsure about what to do and its a lot of responsibility for you to try and handle this on your own. When someone you know is getting hurt like this then it would always be okay to tell an adult you trust this could be someone who looks after you, a teacher or a family friend.
If you dont have any adult you could trust or you find that the adults arent helping, then you can talk to ChildLine and we can help you to get in touch with someone who can change things. Talking to a ChildLine counsellor will help you to understand the importance of telling someone and to help you to deal with that responsibility.
One other option is for your cousins to call or chat with ChildLine themselves - they would be able to talk with one of our counsellors and we can keep whats said to us confidential. This means that your cousins get to choose what they want to do next without worrying about us telling someone straight away. If they want us to get them help then we can do that for them when they ask for it. This might help them to realise they have options around getting help and give them the opportunity to talk to someone who is there to listen.
Running away from home can seem like a good way to get away from a difficult situation but it is never the answer and can lead to more difficult problems and to very unsafe situations. Please ask your cousins to get in touch with ChildLine if they ever tell you that they are going to run away from home.
ChildLine is free to call from all phones and wont show up on a phone bill, so nobody could tell someone has called by looking at one. Your cousins can also chat with a counsellor online if they have access to the internet, or send them an email.
Im glad you decided to send your message because I hope it not only helps you and your cousins but also helps other people who might be in a similar situation to know that there are ways this can stop and that ChildLine is there to help.
Take care.
Sam
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