By Cindy Adams

He may seem like a typical 10th grade American boy. His favorite class in high school is PE. He sometimes needs to be reminded to do his homework. He likes to hang out with his friends and play soccer. He likes day one of snow, but he’s done with it by day three. Typical. But Abdo* has only lived in this country a little over a year, and he came as a result of war in Sudan. He started with family but arrived in the U.S. alone.

Abdo and his uncle were hoping to escape their country’s violence, but his uncle was deported back from Mexico. Abdo made it the rest of the way by himself. His uncle was later killed in the war. His parents, two sisters and brother are currently in Uganda but may have to move to Egypt. Abdo is finding his way, aware of his opportunity and resolute in his purpose.

"I'm grateful," he said. "I'm here to support my family. I'm here to make my future better."

His enCircle behavior specialist speaks to his resilience and determination.

"Abdo was by himself, asking questions and getting it done," she said. "At first, we didn’t have an Arabic instructor, but he still overcame the language barrier in an incredible way. He is very smart."

Abdo credits music videos with teaching him the English language.

"You've got to learn through things you like," he said. "If you want to do something, do it!"

Abdo is part of enCircle's Long Term Foster Care program for immigrant children who arrive in the U.S. by themselves and whose plans for family reunification in this country did not work out through no fault of his own. He lives with an enCircle foster family, attends public school, and is supported by the Long Term Foster Care team. This support includes counseling sessions, cultural adaptation groups, medical coordination, legal guidance, school support and summer engagement with the help of behavior specialists.  

"Abdo is very respectful, he gets good grades at school and has good relationships with the other foster kids," his behavior specialist said. "He always finds a way to make our day better."

After visiting a local museum and seeing a pottery exhibit, he declared, "I must be rich! I have a lot of that at home!" He explained how Sudan has numerous sculptures and joked about going back to get them to sell to the museum.

Like many 10th graders, Abdo has not decided exactly what his career path looks like, but he has proven courage, innate wisdom and inspiring hope. He has the important tools. And he is far from typical.

*Name and likeness changed to protect privacy.