Gideon's parents were killed in 2010 when mudslides buried their village and the families living there. Gideon, his twin brother, Joshua, and older sister, Mercy, survived. After an investigation by a social welfare officer, it was agreed that the siblings should be moved to the Rafiki Village Uganda. They soon began to thrive in their new environment with nutritious food, a bed of their own, and the opportunity to attend school. Gideon enjoys math, even though he struggles often with getting the concepts right the first time. His spelling is excellent. His teachers work closely with him to improve his science lessons. In art, Gideon learned that God made the earth with different beautiful colors, and he has been trying to paint scenery to demonstrate this point. He was part of a group that sang the hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy" during the end-of-term recitation. He admitted that memorizing the lyrics was challenging, but it taught him patience.