Kobby is 12 years old and goes to GLONA. He has the education level of a 6 year old though because of the environment he was raised in and the resources he has. I visited his house and talked to his Grandmother and Auntie Grace about his background. It was eye opening and made me want to take him home even more than before...
The first thing we asked was "Where are his biological parents?" This got Grandma started on a long story about Kobby's family:
Grandma is not Kobby's biological grandmother. Kobby's mom married Grandma's son, they got divorced and she married another man, who is Kobby's father. They both died when Kobby was 3 years old, along with all of Kobby's other relatives, uncles, aunts, ect. Kobby was then brought to his "step-dad" from the Central Region, and he gave Kobby to his mother. So, long story short, Kobby has no one. He doesn't have a family. He lives with this elderly woman who can't do much with him and she doesn't work, so they don't have a lot of money, and it is just not an ideal home for a child. When asked what Kobby does before going to GLONA, she says that she gives him free reign. He plays, eats when he wants, and wakes up when he wants. He doesn't have a sleep schedule or anything. He does what he wants, in some ways he is like a normal kid...except he has no real structure. She begs him to do his laundry and brush his teeth. He plays football (soccer) a lot with friends and watched the game down the street on the tv. He doesn't do his homework because he doesn't show it to anyone or bring it home. It's really sad because he is actually a bright kid and in the classroom he wants to learn when someone motivates or encourages him. He just doesn't get enough encouragement. In the home, he is respectful to Grandma, but that was all she could say when asked to describe Kobby, that he was respectful. When he does need to disciplined, they either cane him on make him squat in the middle of a room for a long time. Kobby also loves to dance; he can do all sorts of dances to any type of music.
I was shocked that the Grandma was a teacher when she worked and Auntie Grace went to vocational school after graduating high school and studied catering. If they are so educated, why isn't Kobby in a public school? Why isn't education as important to them as other things? Financial problems prevent him from going to school. The grandmother no longer works, so they don't have a lot of money, and they can't spare what they have for his education. They hope that through GLONA, he can gain a good enough education to go to the school for free...I'm not sure of that actually happening unfortunately. GLONA just does not have good teachers who are trained and who truly care...
Kobby is such a good kid, with a great heart, and I know that if he had the resources he would be extremely smart. He could be something in the world, he could do great things, but...his environment is just not good for him, or for any kid. It's heartbreaking...
