Alex Yusuf

Alex comes from the village of Nkwarua, near Arusha, where he lived with his elderly grandmother after both his parents passed away. His grandmother owned a small plot of land and survived by growing her own food. She demanded that Alex help on the farm, which meant he was unable to attend school with other children his age.

Alex ran away, hoping to find work and support himself through school. He lived on the streets of Arusha, where he often went to sleep with an empty stomach. He survived by begging from passing tourists, offering to carry their luggage to a nearby hotel.

Alex learned about Amani from other homeless children and went looking for Amani’s street educators. In August 2009, Amani’s social workers helped reunite Alex with his grandmother. She is extremely happy that Alex has returned home. He is now studying at a local primary school. Amani will continue to pay for Alex’s school fees to help him and his grandmother out.

Alex likes studying mathematics and science and is a talented artist and acrobat. He dreams of becoming a performer with an acrobatic troop someday.