Boy with scaly skin found in Gorontalo

Gorontalo (ANTARA News) - After the reported discovery of a child with monkey-like physical features in Tilangobula, Bone Bolango district, Gorontalo province, local media attention is now on a young boy with scaly skin all over his body in the same village.

Identified as 9-year-old Iskandar Yusuf Daliwa, the boy`s scaly skin is so thick that he appears almost to have no eyelids.

"I never get out of the house, let alone go to school. I am too embarrassed about my condition," Iskandar told reporters who visited him in Tilangobula village on Thursday.

Because of the thick scales covering all parts of his body, Iskandar often feels so hot that he has to pour water over his body every three hours when the weather is sunny.

But his parents have always taken care of him with compassion in their house with walls made of pleated bamboo, a dirt floor and a roof consisting of palm-tree leaves.

Iskandar`s mother, Kartin Katili (39), said her son had been suffering the skin deformation since his birth in Bolaang Mongondow district, North Sulawesi.

"I once took him to a doctor who later said that my son should be taken to a hospital. But when we followed the doctor`s advice, the hospital refused to treat our son as we had no health insurance," Kartin said.

She said because of Iskandar`s condition, her family was often isolated by members of the local community because they were afraid the disease suffered by Iskandar was contagious.

Earlier, not far from Iskandar`s house, a 10-year child with the facial and physical feature of a monkey was found.

Identified as Septini Abdul, the child of a married couple had been leading a life like most children although it had a face resembling a monkey, especially the jawbones, nose, and ears, and a body all covered in hair.

The child`s mother, Fatma, told reporters visiting the village that Septini`s condition was like that since birth. Septini`s genitals were incomplete, the ears almost had no openings and there were no nipples on the breast.

Despite the physical abnormality, Septini who has two normal siblings was attending school normally and was now in the second grade of elementary school.

Fatma who works as a house-helper once took Septini to a doctor But the docter said after an examination, Septini had already been like that since her birth and nothing could be done to change the condition. But Fatma still hoped that doctors could at least stop the hair growth on Septini`s body.

Septini has grown up without anybody in the village community, including school-mates, trying to stigmatize or avoid the child so it was getting along normally with other people outside the family.

In school Septini was also considered a normal pupil. "Septini`s brain capacity and understanding are the same as other students," said Elvin Adam, a teacher at Dumbaya Elementary School I, adding that Septini`s school reports were often even better than average, especially in the subject of physical exercise.