Daniel Kirya

Daniel Kirya

Dan “The Man” as we call him, was admitted to Answering For The Children in November of 2001. Apparently, when he was born, he also had a twin but the twin died some time later. Dan didn’t have a name because the neighbors that found him just new him as Wasswa (which means twin).

Dan and his one month old sister Ruth were found by neighbors in their ram shackled house, a wooden shack in one of the slum areas of a city called Bugembe. Dan’s mother had been dead for three days when the neighbors had come by to inquire about an odor that was in the area. The odor was the smell of the body of Dan’s mother. Dan and his little sister were taken from the house and handed over to the probation department. Neighbors did not know of any relatives so the body of Dan’s mother was buried in an unmarked grave on public land.

Dan and his sister were in terrible shape. They appeared as if they had not been bathed or fed in quite awhile. Dan had ringworm and his sister was severely malnourished. Unfortunately, little Ruth did not live longer than two weeks before she left this earth. Dan cried for several hours when he first came to the orphanage. We tried hugging him and cuddling him but he would just push us away and cry. When we took him to the area were we kept the toys, his face lit up. It was as if he had never seen toys before. He picked up one toy and then the next one and the next one and ran around screaming. We didn’t know what to make of it at first but when he started laughing we all became relieved. The only problem was getting him to share with the other children. But after awhile he conceded.

The head mistress at the school he attends (Joy Emmanuel Oasis Nursery School), says that Dan is her favorite student. Whenever Dan comes to school and he doesn’t see her, he has to look for her just to say, “Good Morning Teacher Norah, how are you?” Then he gives her a hug. He’s known as the most polite, as well as the most loving student they have. Not only that but he’s also known as the best dancer. He loves to dance. He’s not too fond of doing paperwork yet, but he listens attentively at story time and when you think he’s not listening he can actually repeat everything you say. He is the most remarkable little boy, a hero, and an inspiration to everyone he meets.