Doolah Update

Sorry i haven't written in a while but the Internet in Bagamoyo has been down so today i made the big trip into Dar Es Salaam to e-mail and get supplies for the school. First of all Dollah is doing great. After i last wrote he was taken to the police station where his mother signed over custody of him which allowed us to start the ball rolling with finding him care and a school. It was actually very easy considering things like that normally take weeks to do over here because of "Africa Time", but Dollah has already had his first week at his new boarding school and is loving it. Amy and Vicky took him around to schools to see what they were like and they found this amazing school that already has lots of orphans ( even though Doolah technically isn't) so when all the other children go home for holidays there is still a big group of them left to hang out and play for the summer. It is a full time boarding school, he will receive all his schooling, food and care in one place so he won't be going back and forth from place to place and best of all it is a five minute walk from our house. Doolah obviously has a connection with Bagamoyo because every time he would run away from his dad he would walk for several hours to get back there to sleep rough so it is nice he doesn't have to leave. It turned out he has been on the streets a lot longer than we first thought and he is older then he realized as well, he didn't know his birthday. Dollah is 9 years old and he was born in June. We sent him for a full medical and amazingly he got the all clear, which was a big relief. It was shocking to me how easy it was to change someones life. Dollah now has a bed, food, education and people to care for him and all it took was three days of running around and $800 (all inclusive yearly boarding school fees), Thats it, and now he has a future. When i first came to Africa, the whole idea of making a difference seemed impossible as there is so much need out here for everything, money, education, food, care, just to name a few, that it seemed like a mammoth task that no one person could even make a dent in no matter how long you are here. Doolah has taught me that you don't have to do big things over here to make a difference, it can be as small as giving one child a future. Seeing Doolah playing with other children in a playground and just being a child is so rewarding.
The children at my school are happy just to see Krystina and i everyday. When we bring out puzzles and games or colouring pencils or do a craft with them they are so happy to be doing anything other then reciting words on a board you can see it on their faces. I leave each day feeling like i have made a small difference in that childs day and it feels so good. Yacini and Mohammade (the teachers) are great and they have given us free reign of all teaching so we have been coming up with lots of ideas for lessons. Tomorrow we want to discuss the importance of cleaning out your cuts as lots of the children have nasty infections from little scratches, so we decided to do a play for them in Swahili. I have no idea if it will work but i will let you know how it goes!!