Now aged 14, Sasha Bharrat will finally have the opportunity to attend school as she is receiving treatment for a skin condition, which for years barred her from attended classes; the young teenager says she is anxiously awaiting that opportunity as she hungers to learn.
While Sasha’s parents home-schooled her to the best of their ability and she had some lessons on the internet, the young girl said that every morning she would look longingly at the passing children dressed in uniforms and wish for the day when she would be one of them. While she is anxious, Sasha said she is also scared to attend school but she hopes to one day become a doctor as she wants to help children. If that does not materialize, she has a back-up plan, just to “be there” for children in need.
A recent camp experience in the United States and ongoing treatment will now allow her to attend normal school. She is expected to be enrolled in Professional Education, a private institution in Mon Repos which has already agreed to accept her.
Sasha, who celebrated her 14th birthday yesterday, has the condition Autosomal Recessive Congenital Ichthyosis (ARCI) Lamellar Ichthyosis, which occurs in approximately 1 in 300,000 births. Recessive genes, similar to those that result in persons having blue eyes, cause lamellar ichthyosis. The genetic abnormalities