Long Legs Boy

This novel empathetically presents the reality for thousands of street children. Characters, settings, names and places are entirely fictional but authentically true-to-life. Twelve-year-old Modou lives in the sub-Saharan African country of Danzania. He has become orphaned due to the deaths of his family from AIDS. After burying his mother, he accedes to her final wish and sets off to live with and learn from Alhaji Safo, a Moslem teacher who, with his wife, board and nurture boys from ages 8 to 16 years. Daily tasks and life-style are portrayed as well as the difficulties encountered and the emotions experienced. This includes begging when food is scarce, evading capture by police in regular round-ups and being the focus of supposed U.N. help, which only exacerbates the situation. All chapters, but one, end with newspaper reports, editorials or personal letters pertinent to the topic.