Rama was born in 1995. His actual birthdate was unknown and he was assigned a birthday of June 5. His father died from AIDS when he was 8 years old and his mother died three years later. His older brother, who was 18 at the time, had no job and was unable to care for Rama or his younger half-sister Doreen. Rama began to hustle on the streets trying to find food to survive. Neighbors who knew of their situation brought food occasionally to try and help the children.

A local pastor, whose wife works as a teacher at TOA, became aware of their plight, and recommended that Rama and his sister Doreen be considered as candidates for the Treasures of Africa Children’s Home. After prayerful consideration, Rama and his sister came to live with us on August 14, 2007.

When Rama arrived it was quite obvious that he had been living a rough life. We discovered that at times, Rama had actually been living on the streets. He roamed around on his own with no supervision. His schooling was minimal and when he entered TOA he was unable to read. To test his grade level he was given math problems to work on. He was only able to complete a small number of first grade level problems. The second grade level problems were too difficult for him.

Because Rama’s younger sister was in second grade, we felt it would be best to put him in second grade with her though he was not performing beyond first grade level. The Education Director and teachers at TOA all agreed that Rama would need extra hours of tutoring in order to survive academically at the second grade level.

His first month at TOA was difficult. Rama was very aggressive with the other children and often intimidated and pushed them around. There was great concern for the safety of the other children. In school, Rama’s teachers told us he would not stay in his seat or follow their directions. Everyday for about two weeks we would get a report about his behavior in class. Rama continually had to stay extra hours after school because of his behavior and lack of motivation to get his work completed.

After much prayer and strict loving discipline we began to see changes…drastic changes. We continued with Rama this way and to our joy he has responded positively each time. At TOA he began to show respect and kindness towards others. His attitude toward school changed and his teachers noticed a difference.

Now… we are thrilled to report that Rama is a changed boy. His teachers say he is one of the best behaved students and they have made him “head student” in the class. He is in charge of helping the teachers tutor the younger students. To his joy, Rama has learned to read and is improving in all his subjects. At the orphanage he shows respect to all adults and is quick to apologize and acknowledge his mistakes. Rama is now happy and well adjusted and very helpful to both the children and the staff at Treasures of Africa. He loves to play soccer and looks forward to the days he can play educational games in the TOA computer lab. His favorite subject in school is English and he looks forward to the day he can speak English fluently.