By: Caroline Thomas, Iris Madagascar Base Director
Heritiana was one of the first four boys to come and live at Iris Madagascar in July 2010. He had run away from an abusive family and was sleeping on the street with his brother and two friends. He didn’t go to school, sold scrap metal to make money to eat, and slept on the pavement. He was always dressed in a random assortment of clothes that he had found from what other people had thrown away.
The boys started school and even though they were a few years behind they studied really hard. Heritiana has always loved football and it has always been his main passion in life. During the last six years he has played football in almost all of his free time, and has continued his studies at the same time.
This year at age 18, after a one month trial he was selected to play for one of the best football teams in the country and is now a full time football player. It is amazing to see him realize his dream. Seeing him literally moving from a street kid to a professional football player has been astonishing and a dream come true for all of us, especially him. We are so proud of him and all that he has a achieved.
As one of our oldest kids, he has always been a special part of our family. He has always had a really kind and gentle heart. When he came back from his last football tour, he came back with a small salary and he used it all to give little gifts of money and presents to his brother and two sisters, family in the center, and mama Caroline.
As his mom, I will always be proud of him, for his amazing heart and fantastic football skills, and for the incredible person that he is, and we are so blessed that God put him in our family!
