Time to release these 'stolen' children to the care of their family

Leigh Ramsay

Citipointe church

322 Wecker Rd

Carindale QLD 4152                                                                                         27th Oct 2012

Dear Leigh

I have just returned from Chanti's home. She told me that a representative from Citipointe church arrived at her home this morning to tell her that Rosa and Chita (Srey Mal) will not be coming to visit the family tomorrow, as Chanti had been promised by the church. Why does Citipointe continue to make promises to Chanti that it fails to fulfil? Chanti tells me that she thinks that Rosa and Srey Mal will now visit the family next weekend but she is not sure. She is never sure.

Could you please let me now why Citipointe decided to cancel Rosa and Chit's visit Sunday 28th Oct? Could you also please let me (and hence Chanti) know whether Rosa and Chit will be visiting their family next weekend? If so, on what day and for how long?Chanti's never knowing, never being sure, just when and for how long she will see her daughters causes her great distress, as you know all too well. And yet, even after four years, you act as though Rosa and Srey Mal were daughters of Citipointe and that the church is doing Chanti a huge favour allowing them to visit her from time to time!

Up until about six weeks ago I was able to communicate with Chanti through a friend who speaks good English and who uses the internet regularly. This line of communication has not been available to me recently, however, and I was unaware that Chanti and Chhork no longer had access to the tuk tuk they were renting and hence to the income earned from Chhork's driving of it. I did not know that the family had run out of rice a few weeks ago. If I had, I would have rectified the problem immediately. I now have a new contact who speaks good English, who lives just a few doors down from Chanti and who has internet so communicating will not be a problem from here on in.

What happened when Chanti and Chhork ran out of rice is worthy of mention. Firstly, as far as Chanti tells it, Citipointe gave her no assistance at all, as has been the case this past four years. This is backed up by Chanti's neighbours - who stepped in to provide food for the family. They insist that they have never seen Citipointe providing any assistance to Chanti at all - despite the promises you made to Chanti (and to me personally) four years ago. Not only has Citipointe not kept any of the promises it made to Chanti (and which it advertises on its website) but it has engaged in what I consider to be human rights abuses of both Chanti and her daughters.

I do not, for the life of me, understand how Citipointe can feed, clothe and educate two members of a family and allow the rest of the family to go without food! It is a very odd form of Christianity you practice.

There will no longer be a problem with food as I will guarantee, regardless of the income that Chhork earns with his new tuk tuk, that the family is well fed. I will also see to it that whatever money is required to continue on with Rosa and Chita's education will be available to the family. I would like to think that Citipointe would continue to help Rosa and Chit when they are living with their family again but I suspect that Citipointe's help of these two young girls is contingent on Citipointe having complete control of their lives and indoctrinating them into Citipointe's form of Christianity. I would be delighted to be proven wrong in this.

I would also be delighted to be proven wrong in my presumption, based on experience, that you will not respond in any way to this letter. 

The opportunity for Citipointe to implement a program to reintegrate Rosa and Srey Mal back into their family has passed. The church has never been serious about re-integration and now that I am in a position to take care of the entire family has no excuse not to return Rosa and Chita to their  parent's care immediately.

best wishes

James Ricketson