- Doreen and Anthony’s friends thought they were crazy to leave their comfortable like in the US and relocate to Kenya
- What they didn’t know was that the couple was desperate to save their teenage son from spiralling out of control
- What they found in a Nairobi boarding school stunned them; discipline, structure, and a child who suddenly didn’t want to return to America
When Doreen Selly and her husband, Anthony Dale, packed up their lives in Maryland and moved their family to Kenya five months ago, they knew they were taking a bold step.
Source: UGC
What they did not expect was just how quickly that decision would become one they proudly applaud themselves for.
Doreen, a Kenyan, and Anthony, originally from Alabama, married in Kenya in 2009 before settling in the United States, where their children were later born.
But by early this year, their 14-year-old son AJ had begun getting into trouble at school, tantrums, defiance, and the kind of behaviour that left them searching desperately for solutions.
They considered switching him to another school in the US, hoping a new environment might help, until a friend reached out with a surprising suggestion: bring the children to school in Kenya.
Her own children were studying there, she said, and the structured environment had transformed their behaviour.
The idea sounded drastic, but something about it made sense. Within two months, Doreen and Anthony had made up their minds.
Still, the move came with its own anxieties. Before leaving, AJ’s friends teased him, insisting Kenya had “no electricity or running water” and that he would struggle to adjust.
But those fears evaporated the moment the family visited Brookhouse School in Nairobi as the level of discipline left them awed. Even more astonishing was AJ’s reaction; he loved the school instantly.
“He didn’t even want to go back to the US,” Doreen recalls. I am convinced that was the best decision we ever made for our children.”
Source: UGC
Within weeks of joining boarding school, the changes were impossible to miss when AJ came home for his first visit.
“He was bussing his dishes after meals, washing them without being reminded, making his own bed, and keeping to a set shower time, habits we had struggled to instil for years in the US,” she added.
For the first time in a long time, Doreen says she breathed a sigh of relief. Their leap of faith had worked.
Not only had they found the structure their son needed, but they had also rediscovered the calm and confidence that had slowly been slipping away.
Coming from the US where community is not as strong, the overwhelming love they received even from strangers made them emotional.
Their daughter, Amani, although struggling to adapt to the new environment, has been catching up well and will, hopefully settle fully.
Today, the couple stands by their choice wholeheartedly, proof that sometimes, the best solutions lie in unexpected places, even if it means crossing continents to find them.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
