Now 10 years old he was living with his dying mother and five siblings in a one-room shack.  If lucky, they had one meal a day which extended family members tried to provide.  Prior to arriving at our home, he had never slept on a bed, but rather on the floor, huddling with his brothers and sisters to stay warm.   As the oldest of his family, he had been left to entertain his younger siblings by making toys out of scrap metal, dried grasses and empty plastic containers.  He continues this hobby still, often being found under a tree, behind the house, or in a corner somewhere while busying himself with one creation or another. 

He loves to call himself a soldier and is always eager to carry heavy parcels and bags, but is very stubborn if asked to do something that he does not want to do, or that he did not initiate to do.  It has taken a lot of work for him to understand that the family works as a unit.  He’ll spend hours reading out loud to himself trying to perfect his reading skills and is very motivated to learn new things.  He often brings the neighborhood kids over to do laundry, and offers to do other people’s washing, particularly for the adults.  He enjoys dancing and sings constantly, often locking himself into a room to sing and dance by himself.  He attends school and does well, although his stubbornness gets him in trouble at times, as he tends to daydream when he ought to be paying attention.