‘Little Monkey’ schoolgirl finds new home

LONDON — A schoolgirl who was abandoned by her family because she suffers from a rare condition that means her body and face are partially covered in black fur has been adopted.
 
Liu Jiangli was just two when she was dumped at a nursery school — but carers had to appeal to her family through the local newspapers to come forward after her looks terrified the other children.

The six-year-old was born with a thick coating of black fur on the left side of her face, and there are more patches across 60% of the rest of her body, including inside her left ear.
 
“It’s very itchy,” she told a news agency. “But it’s not painful.”
 
Nicknamed the “little monkey,” she was reportedly never picked up from the nursery after her father dropped her off one day, a short time after her mother left the family home.

Eventually, the grandfather of one of her cousins took responsibility for the youngster who has been unable to make friends with other children. Liu Mingying has looked after the little girl ever since, but worries he won’t be able to afford to pay for her education and that she will always be bullied over her appearance.

The maize farmer admits that he initially felt uncomfortable about the little girl’s condition, but now accepts her completely and even jokes about her appetite. — Agencies