For those who will not be able to make it out on Thursday, Nina has compiled some stories of people she met while working at HAP (Hope After Parents). Do take the time to read them.
Sylivia
Sylivia was a 13 year old girl who was at the top of her class when she found herself pregnant. At this time Sylvias parents had already died and she was being looked after by an older brother who, when he discovered Sylivia was pregnant insisted she marry the man responsible (she was 13 at the time) and when she refused he kicked her out. Sylvia now has a three year old and is still living on her own with her child, she digs in other peoples gardens to pay for rent of her house and to buy food for her and her daughter, when she has extra money she pays for her own school fees so she can continue her education. When I asked her what she wanted the most, she told me that she wanted to return to school. When I visited Sylivias home we found that she had no blanket for her and her daughter to sleep with on her mat on the dirt floor, we left her with a blanket, sheets, mosquito net and some kitchen items that she lacked, and when my mother came to Uganda to visit we gave her a sweater and a blanket for her daughter. After returning to Canada I got the news that her relatives visited her and upon finding her with new items insisted that she hand them over and when she didn't comply they beat her and took them. Sylvia deepest wish was to go to school and she needs a safe place where no one can harm her or her daughter. HAP and Canadian donors have provided her with school fees, exam fees, school uniform and her school needs so she can attend a secondary boarding school. Syliva has found a kind neighbour to care for her daughter while she attends school. She started school this Monday.
Tumuhimbise
The first day that I visited the children in their homes I met Tumuhimbise, she is not an orphan she is a mother whose children are not yet 'complete orphans'. Tumuhimbise has AIDS which she contracted from her husband who upon discovering he was sick sold all the family land
and house to pay for his medical bills. After his death he left behind four children with no land and a sick mother. Tumuhimbise has tested positive for HIV and qualifies to receive antiviral medication from a local NGO. She however cannot always afford to pay for the journey to the hospital once a month to receive the medication and see a doctor. The doctors have told her that the medication will not work if she is not eating healthy food and resting, but she told us that she cannot rest when her children need food and money for school fees. Tumuhimbise neighbours have built her a house and she works in her neighbours gardens digging for money and food as her husband left her without any land to grow food for her family. The day we visited this family the eldest son had been sent home from school as they were unable to pay for his school fees, he told us that he didn't want anything except to be able to go back to school. We also discovered that the youngest child was sick and showing signs of AIDS but due to lack of funds she has not been tested or even seen a doctor. Part of our plan for HAP is to create a clinic/dispensary as part of the school and for the community. The hope is that the children that are infected (often from their mothers) can get the medical care that they need and the children that are not yet 'complete orphans' have a chance to have their remaining parent get healthy and try to prevent more 'complete orphans' that are living alone without any parental guidance.
and house to pay for his medical bills. After his death he left behind four children with no land and a sick mother. Tumuhimbise has tested positive for HIV and qualifies to receive antiviral medication from a local NGO. She however cannot always afford to pay for the journey to the hospital once a month to receive the medication and see a doctor. The doctors have told her that the medication will not work if she is not eating healthy food and resting, but she told us that she cannot rest when her children need food and money for school fees. Tumuhimbise neighbours have built her a house and she works in her neighbours gardens digging for money and food as her husband left her without any land to grow food for her family. The day we visited this family the eldest son had been sent home from school as they were unable to pay for his school fees, he told us that he didn't want anything except to be able to go back to school. We also discovered that the youngest child was sick and showing signs of AIDS but due to lack of funds she has not been tested or even seen a doctor. Part of our plan for HAP is to create a clinic/dispensary as part of the school and for the community. The hope is that the children that are infected (often from their mothers) can get the medical care that they need and the children that are not yet 'complete orphans' have a chance to have their remaining parent get healthy and try to prevent more 'complete orphans' that are living alone without any parental guidance. Child-headed Families
Nothing quite prepared me to visit a family of children that live completely alone, but unfortunately it was not just one family. On the second day that I visited the children I met several families of orphans living alone, the eldest usually around 12-14 years old caring for his or her younger siblings. The last family that we visited on this day had no beds, blankets or any bedding aside from some banana leaves and dirty plastic sheets. We left them with warm blankets, sheets and mosquito nets and some kitchen items that they needed and as we were about to leave them they asked us to please wait. The went around to the back of their house and returned with two papayas to give to us in return for the blankets and other things we had given them. It took everything in me not to cry as we walked away from these children. Again and again after each family of children that I walked away from it tore my heart to pieces. No child in Canada would have been left alone for one day without a guardian, let alone in those conditions. It was on this day that my heart committed itself to helping these children to find a place for them that is safe where they can have some time to be children again, where the worries of basic needs are someone else's to bear, some adult. Where they can get the guidance that they need to grow up to be adults with morals and values and who know right from wrong, because right now no one is teaching them this. HAP's vision for a boarding school is a place where this can happen, a place that will cater to the special needs of children who have no parents.
Rosette
My first memory of Rosette was meeting her in the home that she was staying in. Rossette has no family left and was taken in by strangers. When we met her in her home she looked incredibly sad. At the time we did not know what was going on, but a few weeks later we found out that her neighbour was raping her. She is 14 and no doubt feels helpless and powerless. At least 8 out of 10 women and girls in Uganda are raped at least once in their lives and orphan girls are the most vulnerable to this. Unfortunately there is little repercussions for the man responsible because these cases typically never get to court. The HAP counselor is currently counseling Rossette. When my mother heard about what was happening to Rossette she decided to do something to help, to somehow get her out of the living situation she was in. It was decided that the best solution would be to send her to boarding school. Janet donated the funds to pay for her school fees, her uniform and other school items. I am happy to tell you that on Monday Rosette started school at Kashozi (the school I was at and where two of the HAP members also work as teachers) Rosette will be safe living and studying at Kashozi and will have the support of the two HAP members close by. Bago told me that she was very excited after her first day at school.Sadly what happened to Rosette happens to many of the girl orphans who have no one to defend them or to turn to for help. Part of building is school for the orphans is so that HAP can provide a safe place to protect these girls who have no one to defend them. HAP also wants to educate the community that it is not ok to abuse defenseless orphans. Also at a HAP school the children could get the counseling to deal with the trauma that they have lived through. Most of these children are traumatized by the death of their parents, by being left alone in the world and then by the mistreatment, abuse and violence that they experience at the hand of the few adults in their lives.
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