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| Photo Courtesy: pixaby.com |
Hard to believe, but it's true.
Here is the story:
Devon grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, as they say. The neighborhood was broken. Run down. Laden with drugs and violence. Survival required knowing where to hide when things turned ugly.
His mother was a drug addict and his father an alcoholic.
This situation turned many children in the school district into angry persons. Devon's anger manifested itself in behavior issues at school. In sixth grade, he was suspended several times.
Here is where the amazing twist in his life story happened.
The principal of his school was told to find a way to move ten percent of the students, the ones who refused to learn or refused to behave, to alternative education. Once these students left the school, the overall student body had a hope to succeed.
A recruiter from a new school foundation came to Devon's school. They presented their program to the student body. The idea was to take the troubled students to a remote area, far away from their neighborhood, and give them a chance to start over. The foundation considered several locations in the United States and elsewhere. Unfortunately, many had issues that would only contribute to the student's problems. At last, an area in Kenya, Africa was chosen. The students who would be accepted for the program would fly to Kenya for the academic year.
The idea intrigued Devon.
Over the summer Devon filled out the application and forms, answered interview questions, and so much more. Just prior to the start of the school year, Devon and eleven other boys flew to Kenya then traveled 150 miles to a very remote area where a large hut served as their school.
The students had limited electricity, the food was drastically different, and they didn't have the electronics like video games, etc, and fast food restaurants they'd been accustomed to. Wild animals ventured near their school. Life was as opposite as it could be. And--it was not easy.
Devon and many other boys adapted. To earn their entertainment, students had to prove successful in their studies. Devon's outlook on life changed completely. He earned good grades and found a new reason to live during that seventh-grade year.
Devon hoped to return to Kenya for eighth grade. Unfortunately, the school had to be closed down due to a dangerous uprising in the country. He didn't throw that seventh-grade year away and return to his old lifestyle. Instead, he continued to reach for a rewarding life by continuing his studies.
Today Devon is a CEO of an ice cream company, has a great salary, is married and has a child. Isn't that a Never Give Up Story that makes you want to do something?
If you'd like to read more about Devon, the Kenyan school, his photo, and more: CLICK HERE
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