Shifting in the chair, he turns his to face her a little better, and reaches out for her hand.

"Because it is the right thing to do," he says, as if it is the most logical answer in the world. "I know it will not be easy, but I am not afraid of that."

He squeezes her hand lightly. "Because you are a child, you are a person, Ibani. A person who deserves to be treated with fairness and kindness, a person who is worthy of love and respect, and while that may not have happened before...I am going to change that."