Danny's Story

Danny is a very precious little boy. Here is his story:

In 2008, when Hector was in Africa, he saw Danny in a group of children, and this is how he looked then...


his heart went out to him, and when he came back he talked to our church family about getting enough money for surgery, and it was cheerfully given by many.

Evidently life was rough for him beyond his looks. We are now aware of the trouble he had eating, and probably it was even harder to nurse him as he would not have gotten any suction without a top lip. To eat he would have to put his head back and put the food in, and chew with the head back, but after the surgery, it didn't take him long to break the old habit and eat normally. We had translators, who told us that Danny said the children used to laugh at him, but now after the Mazungu (white man in Swahili) took him to get his lip fixed they won't be able to laugh at him any more. Also evidently before, he didn't talk or at least not much. We did see that he had communication skills that included lifting the eyebrows to indicate yes, and he also had a little sound (ehennah-how do you spell a sound???) But by the time he got back from the Capital 3 days after surgery, he was chattering like a monkey!!! I guess if you spent 5 years listening and not talking, when you can talk you don't ever want to stop. It was amazing how if he never was able to practice the words that he could chatter like that, and it seemed that everything came out so his parents could understand!!!


First day back after the surgery, and about four days after the surgery.

Danny is very smart. the brought him and his dad back and had the dad stay at the hotel for one night and took Danny to the Dr in the morning for a dressing change, then the dad left and Danny was our little boy for the week. First night, he was to sleep on a mattress on the floor in Wailu's room, but he got up on the bed, and wouldn't move. A few days later we got the interpretation from that conversation, and it went like this:

Danny you are to sleep on the floor.

No I want to sleep on the bed.

But the bed is for the Mazungu, the mattress for you is the one on the floor.

Well take me to the room where I slept with my dad, I can sleep there.

No, Your dad is gone, you can't sleep there.

I can sleep there without my dad, just take me there.

No that is not possible, you must sleep here now with the Mazungu.

I am going to sleep in the bed, and if the Mazungu doesn't want to sleep with me he can sleep on the floor.

And believe me that is exactly what happened. Wailu slept on the floor!!! The next night they shared the bed, as Wailu figured out that if he took the blanket that isn't needed in Africa and built a wall down the middle of the bed, then they could share the bed with out Wailu getting kicked all night.


Five days after Surgery.

One night after dark Wailu was standing in the doorway of our room, and Danny was playing around between us as we talked. The power went out and it was very dark, Wailu said "we won't find him now." I said Where's Danny, and I got the little ehennah sound, it was so precious.

Danny learned how to use the toilet and how to flush it. He learned how to lock a door, and be bought him some toys, and he played with them. We bought him a couple outfits, to wear, and when we took him back to the village to visit his mother and the rest of the people, the was telling the kids. Mazungu, put me in a vehicle, and took me to where they stitched up my lip, and now I can sing and laugh, and talk. Today, they took me to get new cloths, and then they bought popcorn and we ate it.


Six days after Surgery.

One day Danny was with me, and for the second time, he went out of the room into the hall, and started rolling on the floor and wining, and then crying. the first time, was just before bed one evening, and I thought he was missing his family, but this time was mid day, so I went to the hall and said let's go find Fred (the guy at the hotel who helped take care of him and could understand most of what he was saying). Danny didn't get up, so I started walking towards the steps that would take us to where Fred was. But the crying just got louder, and finally Fred heard from downstairs, and came for him. Later Fred must have asked him why he was crying, and he said "I asked the Mazungu lady for water and she wouldn't give it to me so I had to fight!"

The last night before Hector and I left, we all went out for supper, and while there, The Host was talking to Danny and getting answers, and translating for us. We asked him what he would eat when he goes back to his village, and he listed the foods his family eats. There were a number of things, and then at one point we said "Tell him he needs to learn English." To Francis told Danny he needs to learn English, and his response was. "Why do I have to learn English am I going to stay with the Mazungu?"


The day we went to visit his mother, about a week after surgery

So you can see that this little boy is very special to us now. When Wailu took him back to the village before he left, he asked him Danny where are you going to sleep? He said "I am going to come back to the hotel with you!"

The little hut that Danny's family lives in, and they sleep on the mud floor, so the hotel was very special to them.

Danny is very smart, and when he gets talking to someone who understands him, he can get very serious expressions, and accentuate with his hands like an adult. By 2010 Danny will be 6 and he really needs to go to school, we are hoping to make some kind of arrangements for that.