Ugonjwa wasababisha awe mpweke, anahitaji mpenzi

Pole Lauw, kweli hujafa hujaumbika.

A MAN ravaged by a rare skin condition has revealed how he longs for his first kiss — aged 51.

But Lauw Tjoan Eng — whose entire body is covered with benign tumours — will struggle to find a date because he never goes out during the day for fear of scaring people.

And Lauw refuses to look in the mirror because even he is frightened of his reflection.

Small lumps started growing on his face when he was aged just five. They now cover his whole head and body.

The condition has left him facing a lifetime alone, because he is so afraid of what people will think if they see him.

Instead, he eats and goes shopping late at night — often with his face almost completely covered.

He said: "I don't even have a picture of myself from when the lumps were only just starting to appear because I hated it so much.

"It makes me frustrated just looking in the mirror - my reflection is horrible and I try to avoid it whenever possible.

"I live on my own and my sisters live quite far away from me so I feel really lonely. I don't have a job because nobody will employ me so my sisters send me money to survive.

"When I go out during the day people always look at me strangely and I have been ridiculed by people because of the way I look.

"But they don't know me - so they can't judge me. I have no wife or children and have never been near a woman.

"So I hope one day I can be cured and find a women who I can be happy with, marry her and live a normal life like everyone else."

Lauw, from Sawah Besar in central Jakarta, Indonesia, was the first child of five siblings and was born completely healthy.

But as the years passed his condition got worse. And by the time he was 20 he had random lumps growing on numerous parts of his body.

With funding from a church he was checked by a doctor. They believed he was suffering from a hereditary disease despite neither of his parents having the condition.

He added: "It was a surprise because nobody else in my family that we knew of had this condition so to hear it was hereditary was a surprise.

"I wish I could be treated but I don't know how, all I know is that I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway.

"These days I just keep to myself and avoid people. I know this means I am unlikely to meet people but I can't help it.

"I still have hope and that is the most important thing."