Parents and Children, and Vinyl
Dutch sperm donor with 98 children; disfigured Afghan girl supported by father through surgery; saving Africa's vinyl; Kolkata's last Jews; and the last foundling with Jo Fidgen.
Ed Houben may be one of Europe's most prolific sperm donor as he's fathered nearly 100 children. Ed started out donating sperm at his local fertility clinic in the Netherlands, but is now online offering to have sex with women who want a baby, for free. John Laurenson joined him on a visit to see his 98th baby.
Hadisa Hussein was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, with a severe facial deformity, which created a cleft from her mouth to her eye socket. Most of her family members rejected her, but her father Sardar protected her all the way through. With the help of two charities - Children in Crisis and Facing the World - Hadisa has come to London for surgery.
German DJ Frank Gossner grew up listening to his father's record collection. But the chance discovery of African vinyl on a trip to a record store in Philadelphia set him on a new path. As he told Outlook's Tanvi Misra, he made it his life's mission to save forgotten vinyl records in Africa, and get them reissued.
Tom Mackenzie was born to unmarried parents. Because of the stigma of having an illegitimate child his mother knew she couldn't keep him. Tom grew up in The Foundling Hospital for abandoned and illegitimate children in England, but when he was twenty he was finally reunited with the mother he never knew.
For over two hundred years the Indian city of Kolkata had a thriving Jewish community. The Jews founded schools and printed newspapers, but now their numbers are dwindling. The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Rahul Tandon joined some of the remaining members of the community as they set out to teach their history.
Picture: Ed Houben with daughter Madita, his 98th child; Tom MacKenzie was left as a Foundling but later tracked down his mother; DJ Frank Gossner (R) is saving Africa's lost vinyl.
Picture credit: Ed Houben picture copyright John Laurenson
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- Sun 23 Mar 2014 08:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Sun 23 Mar 2014 19:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
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