BEYOND THE STREETS: They Call Me Dad: Transforming Pain into Purpose and Belonging - Couverture souple

Okiror Eleja, Daniel Benon

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 9090432167 ISBN 13 : 9789090432168

Editeur : Akogo Press, 2026

Synopsis

BEYOND THE STREETS: They Call Me Dad

Transforming Pain into Purpose and Belonging

From a childhood marked by loss and seasons of homelessness in Uganda to becoming a global voice for the marginalized, Daniel Benon Okiror Eleja shows how some of our deepest wounds can become the foundation for profound purpose.

Daniel’s story begins in the drought-stricken landscape of Teso, Uganda. He lost his mother when he was just three months old and his father six years later. His childhood was marked by severe poverty, hunger, rejection, and seasons of homelessness on the streets of Soroti.

Then, on a night of total despair beneath a mango tree, his trajectory changed. At the edge of giving up on life, a profound encounter with God gave him a reason to live—and began a journey of faith, education, restoration, and service.

Beyond the Streets is more than a memoir of survival. It is the story of what can happen when pain is transformed into purpose and belonging.

Daniel chronicles his journey from a vulnerable young man searching for a place to belong to the founder of Beats of Hope Africa, a grassroots mission that has provided safe homes, mentorship, education, and pathways toward independence for hundreds of vulnerable and street-connected children and young people in Kenya and Uganda.

Through more than two decades of lived practice, Daniel challenges us to look beyond rescue alone. Rooted in the African philosophy of Ubuntu—“I am because we are”—he introduces the Etunganane Pathway, an approach to transformation built around connection, nurturing, empowerment, and the movement from receiving support to becoming a source of strength for others.

In this deeply personal and practical book, you will discover:

• The power of belonging: Why taking a child off the street is only the beginning, and why lasting transformation requires relationships that endure.

• The power of connection: How music, culture, mentorship, and shared humanity can rebuild identity and trust when words alone are not enough.

• The Etunganane Pathway: A culturally grounded approach, rooted in Ubuntu, that moves from connection through nurturing and empowerment toward independence and contribution.

• A pathway beyond survival: Lessons drawn from more than twenty years of walking alongside vulnerable children and young people toward restoration, skills, independence, and contribution.

• A story of resilience and faith: How a boy shaped by loss and rejection transformed his own pain into a calling to create the belonging he once needed himself.

Along the way, something deeply personal happened: children who first knew Daniel as a mentor began calling him “Dad.”

With a foreword by Rev. Dr. Forrest L. Krummel Jr. from Peoria, Illinois, USA, Beyond the Streets invites us to see vulnerable children not merely as statistics or beneficiaries, but as people with names, gifts, dignity, and futures.

It is a book for anyone seeking hope after a difficult beginning—and for parents, mentors, social workers, faith leaders, nonprofit practitioners, educators, and community leaders who believe transformation must go beyond temporary rescue.

You cannot choose how your story begins, but you can choose what it becomes.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Akogo Press
• Date d'édition: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 9090432167
• ISBN 13: 9789090432168
• Reliure: Paperback
• Nombre de pages: 350
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible