Yosam's Home

I thought Yosam would be moving in on Jan. 12. He came home a bit early which was ok by me! His mom was in a serious accident a little before Christmas. She was not only hurt physically but her mental state declined. She refused medical treatment but wasn't coherent, nor would she eat or drink. Her relatives were contacted but all refused to come to help her or to pick her up to take her to the village. After much debate, the villagemates of where she was living, put together their money and took her home. A neighbor took in Yosam for a few days until he could be brought to me.
During that time, we went to the home again to see if there was anything which Yosam would need or could use. We ended up taking only one shirt! His blanket had been thrown up on so many times and left that there were too many maggots living in it to even try to clean it. I decided to just buy him everything new.
So, on Friday afternoon, Yosam came home. We weren't sure how he was going to take the move. He's a somewhat shy kid. But, he's done wonderfully! He cried only a couple of minutes at bedtime Friday night. The rest of the time, he's fit right in to the craziness in my household.
Today, the big girls asked him if he was ready to go back home to Mukono. He just looked at them like they each had three heads and simply told them that he now lives here in Kampala, in his own bed, with his own blanket. He's even bonded well with me and if I leave for a bit runs and clobbers me with hugs to greet me!
I was worried that he and Jackie might not work out well together. Mostly, I was worried that Jackie would be jealous or Yosam wouldn't get enough attention. But, Jackie has loved having a playmate her own age. Actually, I think she thinks that she's his mom...... she drags him around and bosses him around enough! He's such a sweet guy. He just follows her along. She's sweet to him too though. She makes sure she gives him some of her food and helps him clean up after himself, including going to the toilet with him and making sure he washes his hands........
Yosam is definitely behind where he should be in a lot of ways though I'm sure with Jackie looking after him, he's going to quickly catch up. He's not been in school and has been the only child at home with a sick mom. I don't think he's been talked to much, played outside physically much, or had much training in a lot of other things like how to hold a fork, etc.
I'll be going to the hospital with him sometime this next week to get him started on ARVs. Please pray that it will all go smoothly.