Beacon of the day | The woman who fosters a set of twins – and previously their mother

Beacon of the day | The woman who fosters a set of twins – and previously their mother

July 16, 2020 0 By Horace Mills

Claudia Dozovado who fosters three girls. Twin sisters Crystel and Crystal Thomas are pictured inset

She is no ordinary woman.

Claudia Dozovado’s love for children has resulted in her becoming a foster parent of three girls under highly peculiar circumstances.

She started just over a decade ago when she allowed a 12-year-old pregnant girl – a total stranger, to live at her home. That teen ran away from the foster home after giving birth to a pair of twins, who also ended up in Claudia’s care.

“I never thought of giving up on them,” said Claudia from Harkers Hall, St. Catherine.

Recounting her story as a foster parent, Claudia said she was in Canada just over a decade ago when her mom Leonie Dozovado telephone her about meeting a stranger.

That stranger was a 12-year-old girl who, at the time, was pregnant and was seeking somewhere to live.

Claudia said she and her mom discussed the issue, contacted the relevant authorities, and gave the pregnant teen a room at the family’s home in Harkers Hall.

The teen gave birth to identical twins – Crystel and Crystal Thomas.

Claudia subsequently sent the teenage mom to the then Bog Walk High School – now Enid Bennett High, where she spent three years.

The teen eventually left the school without sitting any CXC exam.

Claudia told The Beacon that she later tried to persuade the teenager to pursue studies in practical nursing. At that time, the pair of twins had reached three years old.

Things eventually took a dramatic turn.

Claudia said she was in Canada and her mother was outside Harkers Hall when a teacher informed the family that the teen mom did not show up to collect her twin daughters from the infant school they were attending.

The young mother allegedly ran away, leaving her daughters at the school. They were picked up by the Dozovado family.

Their mother did not contact them for some six years.

The twin sisters, who have their mother’s surname, also have never met or spoken with their biological father.

They have been doing well academically. They were given their first choice of school (St. Jago High) mainly based on their impressive performance in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP).

Claudia said she cried tears of joy when she heard about the placement.

“I am very proud of them; I know they were going to do well,” she told The Beacon, adding: “I want the best for them.”

Claudia said she loves her foster children no less than the three to whom she gave birth.

“Those [foster] kids know my family as their family; they don’t know any other family,” she further explained. “I love them the same as my three biological children. If I buy a shoes for one, I have to buy five shoes; I buy for everybody. Nobody can tell they are foster kids.”

Claudia, who is now overseas, stated that, when she is away, her adult daughters Kenoka Martin and Vanessa Mitchell do a fantastic job as the twin sisters’ guardians.

She said the government helps her to take care of the foster children financially.

“I do my little job and try to let the children have everything they want,” Claudia added.

She said she does not regret becoming a foster parent.

Meanwhile, the twin sisters, in a previous story published by The Beacon, said their foster family takes good care of them. The Beacon has been trying to contact the twin’s biological mother to get her side of the story.

ALSO READ: Twin sisters succeed despite not having bond with biological family


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