Lost blind boy

Please help me to locate a blind boy whose parents haven't heard from him for four years. His name is Nengah Subrata and he is from the small village of Pemuteran in north Bali. His family was too poor to get any special education for their son, and fortunately, a representative from a Jakarta based yayasan (foundation) offered to help by taking him to a special school in Jakarta. They haven't had any news of him since.

I met the family some time ago while I was there doing research. The mother and father cried as they told me their story and begged me to help. As they are very poor they do not ask for him to return. All they want to know is that he is alive and well and an address so that they can get in touch again.

It shocked me to learn that in that village of 6,000 people there are at least five who are either blind or deaf and mute.

I hope somebody either from the yayasan that helped him or anybody who knows of his whereabouts will contact me by fax on 0361 287729 so that I can give news to his family.

I also ask any other Yayasan or NGO to contact me with suggestions of ways to help people with similar disabilities in such villages.

DAVID J. BOOTH

Denpasar, Bali