In the quiet hills of Wanga Parish, where the morning mist covers the gardens like a soft blanket, a small boy named Musa began life with heartbreak no child should face.

When he was just three and a half years old, his father tried to swim across the Nekina River after drinking too much — and drowned. Musa found him the next morning. His mother had already passed away.

For a long time, Musa had nothing. No shoes, no school uniform, not even a bed. At night, he slept on old sacks spread over the dirt floor, llistening to the crickets sing outside the hut. When it rained, water leaked through the roof and wet his blanket.

Each morning, before sunrise, he carried a yellow jerrycan almost as tall as himself to fetch water for the villagers. Sometimes he earned a little porridge or a few coins. Most days, he got nothing. Still, he would smile and whisper, “God will help me.”

Musa dreamed of going to school. He used to stand outside the classroom windows, watching the other children read aloud. He wanted to hold a book of his own more than anything in the world. Then, when he was almost five, Tikiya volunteers found him and brought him to the Wanga Orphanage. There, he received food, care, and the chance to go to school for the very first time.

Today, Musa is nine years old. He has a bed of his own, shoes on his feet, and a bright future ahead.

Story written by Tikiya volunteer Hanan, who works with Musa in Wanga Parish.