Pointe Blanche:--- The owners of Jack and Jill Day Care Center are willing to shoulder the financial expenses for baby Jariska if the parents or police can prove that the six month old infant was really injured at the Day Care Center.On Monday, SMN News reporter overheard when one of the owners of the Day Care Center Jacqueline Olliver Jameson told the parents Mr. and Mrs. Porchette that the Day Care Center would shoulder the medical expenses if they can obtain a medical report to present to FATUM Insurances. Baby Jariska is currently being treated at the St. Maarten Medical Center for two broken femurs which her parents claim happened at the Day Care Center on Friday.
However, Sharon Thomas, the main caregiver of baby Jariska is not in full agreement with the other co-owner Jacqueline who said she will shoulder the cost of the medical bills. "I told her she should not tell the parents that she will pay the medical bills unless they get a medical report and they can prove we injured her." Sharon said they are hearing different stories and they do not think that baby Jariska was injured at the Day Care Center. Both Jacqueline and Sharon said there is no abrasion on the child's legs and they feel that baby Jariska must have been injured before she began attending the Day Care Center. They both said they wanted to know how both legs of the infant broke in the same place. "This is strange and we can assure the parents that their child did not fall down while she was at the Day Care Center."
Minister of Health Cornelius De Weever said the Inspectorate is already aware of the incident and they are busy investigating. Two of the three owners of the Day Care Center confirmed that an inspector visited the Day Care on Monday and they inspected the building while they opened an investigation to determine how baby Jariska was injured. The caregivers said they spent most of the day on Saturday at the Police Station speaking with detectives who are busy investigating the incident. Sharon said she understands how the parents feel knowing that their baby is injured but they too want to know what happened to the infant. They said the Day Care Center is certified and all three of the caregivers are certified.
Caregiver Sharon Thomas Constance in an interview with SMN News said that she has been working at Jack Jill where she is part owner for the past 14 years and this is the first time she is accused of injuring a child. Thomas Constance also made clear that she is the mother of four children and at no time she injured a child. Thomas Constance said when baby Jariska was at school on Friday nothing was wrong with her. She said she gave the baby a shower and fed her as usual and at no time she noticed that baby Jariska was in pain. Caregiver Sharon Thomas Constance refuted the claims of Soranyi Porchette who said her baby was perspiring when she picked her up from the school and that baby Jariska held on to her shirt. The caregiver said when the mother picked up her baby the child was doing fine. She also admitted telling the mother that her daughter maybe wanted to sleep because when she picked her up from her chair she was going back to sleep. Sharon said Friday was the first time she actually played with baby Jariska as she was observing the child the past four days. Both owners of the Day Care Center said that baby Jariska only attended the Day Care Center for one week and they are lost as to how the child's legs got broken. "We too have questions we also want to know how this happened. This is the first time since I started this school in 1993 that something like this happened," said Jacqueline Jameson. Jameson said they have 27 children attending the Day Care, four of which are babies and three toddlers.Thomas Constance admitted that she told the baby's mother that her baby was a coward but she said she meant no ill feelings when she said that to the baby's mother. "I was lifting the baby up above my head and playing with her, I was even talking to her and I noticed she did not like it so I placed her back in her chair and picked up another baby and played with that baby."
When asked if any other person or child attending the school was involved in an accident with baby Jariska, Sharon said no one entered the Day Care and she was sure that no other child interfered with baby Jariska.
