The little African child from Kenya that the Mulligan family has sponsored comes to America and joins the family he has only known about through videos or letters.
He is as beautiful as he appears in his pictures he has sent us, even more so in real life.
Little Juka Makai Ole Ntanta, aged five, was our little sponsored child we had sponsored through the Christian Children's Fund, and he lived in Kenya, Africa. He was of the Masai tribe of Eastern Africa, and today, he joined our family.
We knew for about a month that he was coming; and we made the necessary preparations. We told our other kids about the arrival of Juka; and as time drew near, they grew all the more excited. We added an extra room for him, and we also made sure that we got him enough toys and clothes.
Now, he is here, and we are thrilled beyond words that our little child is here in America, which is now his new home. We now have a new boy in our family, and we are thrilled beyond measure.
Juka came only a few hours ago, and he is presently lying in his brand new bed, fast asleep; and we can't help but stare at him. He is tall, thin, and very cute; and he is worn out from his very long plane ride. He has his braces by the bed, and it is apparant that they are poorly made. We have to get him some new braces made and get him a brand new pair of crutches so he can get around. He has cerebral palsy, and it mainly affects his legs. The crutches he has now are in terrible shape, and they probably won't last much longer. We have rented him a wheelchair until we can get him a new one through the local Cerebral Palsy Association. (The CPA pays for all his equipment; it will cost us nothing, and our insurance will cover the cost of his appliances. So we don't have to worry about what the new wheelchair, crutches, or braces will cost.) We have already contacted the Cerebral Palsy Association about Juka and his physical needs.
Juka, according to the CCF, speaks some English, but not much; for this reason, we have gotten a Swahili-English dictionary, which will help us figure out what he is saying. We will work with him on improving his English skills. It will be a big challenge, but it will be worth everything that he be able to communicate with us.
Juka does have some likes and dislikes. He loves all vegetables, but he is not fond of meat; maybe this is one reason he is so thin in the first place. He loves milk, and he loves water, too; he is not fond of soft drinks. He also loves fruit; he has never had anything like ice cream or sweets; and we won't know if he would like them until we get him to try some. Maybe he'll like them, maybe he won't; only time will tell.
Juka also likes to sing and to look at picture books. He also loves to draw and color, and he loves to play with blocks or rocks.
We have learned much about Juka from his letters and from the Christian Children's Fund, and we already feel like we know him well when we actually just met. Maybe he will adapt to his new life; only time will tell just how he will fare in his new environment.
It is going to be very interesting, and there will probably be many bad days and good days, both, but in time, we are sure our new son, Juka, will learn to fit in to his new American family and his new American home. In the meantime, we can just enjoy his being here, and learn to adapt to our newest son who came to us from Africa.
What you're doing is very interesting, Karen. It keeps me wanting to go on reading about all these people and their different lives and struggles. Keep them coming.
Carmen
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
