Following in Mosaic Footsteps

My entry for "Awareness of the Arts" contest by CollaborativeMinds:

Awareness of the Arts: JourneyWe are down to our last day, so I hope you are finishing up your entries! We still have two writers looking for artists, if you are interested in a last minute entry! YOU HAVE TILL JUNE 30TH TO GET YOUR ENTRIES INTO OUR:
AWARENESS OF THE ARTS: JOURNEY FOLDER!
It's Here!
The Third Annual Awareness of the Arts Contest
Remember The Theme for This Year is: Journey
*update April 18th* new prize package and more points added!
*update April 24th* commission added to 1st place!
*update May the 4th be with you* There is no registration cut off for this contest. You can sign up until the last day of the contest as long as you get your entries in by midnight EST! Just know there will be NO time Extensions!
*update May 5th* 500 total added to prizes!
Also the

Theme: "Journey"

This is my illustration for my buddy's (PatchworkLynx) entry:

Following in Mosaic Footsteps        Rasheed wouldn't tell anyone his last name.
        He knew it would make him stand out, as much as he didn't know the strange feeling of being a foreigner in the place he was born—until now. He needed to discover what his adoptive English father either didn't know or couldn't tell.
        The dry wind carried up dust from the road. A sparrow perched on the fence cocked its head at him, then jumped to the ground, seeking refuge from the Palestinian sun.
        "Five days," he said aloud. Five days remaining to find answers about his family.
        He stepped over deep-rutted tire tracks in the road and turned west, his eyes seeking out the beautiful minaret that rose above the roofs of the city. Few would take kindly to a boy his age wandering the streets alone, but he prayed no one would stop him.
   

The story and the illustration were decided to be created based on my original character, Rasheed Frey:

Slytherclaw's Characters #1 Rasheed FreyName: Rasheed Frey
Age: 11
Gender: Male
Race and/or Species: Human
The Trope the Character Fits: Determinator
Brief Physical Description:
Rasheed has a typical middle eastern face with pointy nose, brown iris, and thick eyebrows. But you can also see a few hints of Caucasian-Hispanic characteristics, make him quite a handsome little boy. His hair is dark brown can be seen shining when he's running around playing soccer. He seems like always smiling.
He's lean and average height but for a kid of his age he's muscular & agile, due to him playing soccer almost every day. He's often seen wearing striped shirt, blue jeans, and Nike sneakers.
A Short Biography/Back Story:
Rasheed is originally a Palestinian, he's adopted by Edward Arthur Frey at the age of two. His parents died in a still-ever-going war/political conflict. Edward Arthur Frey has been a successful entrepreneur with multiple ventures, h

Very curious that now I (we) managed to make him come to live - this is my 2nd try drawing him (I lost the pencil sketch waaay years ago).

Mixed media on paper.

Constructive criticism is accepted - either regarding how well the picture depicts the story or style or technical execution.