Dan “The Man” as we call him was admitted to Answering For The Children in November of 2001. He came with a little sister who passed away two weeks after they arrived. Dan didn’t have a name because the neighbors that found him just new him as Wasswa (which means twin). Apparently when he was born he also had a twin but the twin died some time later.

Dan and his 1 month old sister were found by neighbors in their ram shackled house which was a wooden shack in one of the slum areas of a city called Bugembe. Dan’s mother had been dead for 3 days when the neighbors came 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 Dept. Neighbors did not know of any relatives so the body of Dan’s mother was buried in an unmarked grave on public land. Dan was in terrible shape. He appeared as if he had not been bathed or fed in quite awhile, and he had ringworm. Dan cried for the first two hours he was here. 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, and the next and ran around screaming. We didn’t know what to make of it 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.

Dan has grown to be our most helpful child and most appreciative. Dan is always quick to clean up, arrange, and organize WITHOUT being told. If he sees that someone has spilled water or milk, he goes to get a rag to mop it up. If he sees a pair of shoes not placed together in the corner, he gets the shoes places them side by side out of the way. He amazes us sometime with his cleanliness and organizational skills. Dan is also sometimes the only one who says “Thank you.” Without being prompted or pressed, Dan will say “Thank you Mom for buying us shoes.” Even if he did not get a pair for himself, he will thank me on behalf of the others. We hope and pray that all his brothers and sisters follow his example.

Dan loves color blue, eating pizza, watching videos with Goofy in them and learning about science and social studies. His best friends are Noleen and Benjamin. Always remember Dan is here with us in the Pearl of Africa.

Date of Birth: N/A... Admitted to AFTC: 11/7/2001