Ramadhani Shabani

Like many children of divorce, Ramadhani Shabani had trouble adjusting to his new step-mother. But when his step-mother encouraged Ramadhani’s father to beat him for no reason, Ramadhani decided to run away. Traveling many hours from Singida, in central Tanzania, Ramadhani ended up on the streets of Arusha. Selling scrap metal to get by, Ramadhani spent most of his day looking for a safe place to sleep and dodging the local police, who frequently beat him.

After months of family counseling and visits back home Ramadhani was reunited with his father in August of 2009. His father was extremely happy to see his son return home. Amani’s social workers continue making follow-up visits to check in on Ramadhani and his family.

Ramdhani likes studying mathematics and wants to be a pilot when he grows up. He also enjoys acrobatics and playing the drums.