Piak* had never received a single visit. His parents were migrant rubber tappers who had relocated to a remote plantation so deep that there was no mobile signal and it was so far that travel was simply beyond their means. Their son, Piak, a teenager in a juvenile rehabilitation centre, waited.
Too often, boys like Piak get lost in the system, becoming a file passed between overworked professionals. But fortunately for Piak, his case was part of the Individual Routing Counsel pilot project, known as IRC. He was assigned a social worker who kept asking questions no matter what obstacles he faced.
Through sustained effort, contact with the family was re-established. Special permission was arranged for phone calls, an exception at the time. It wasn't much, but it was something and that something turned out to be enough to make a difference to Piak.
