Its been a very very long while since I last blogged. A lot has changed in my life, including the fact that at the moment, I am working for a Christian NGO called Dwelling Places, one of the most credible organizations I know in Uganda. Dwelling Places provides holistic care services to children formerly living on the streets, high risk slum families and abandoned babies. We follow a 4Rs module; Rescue, Rehabilitation, Reconciliation and Resettlement to achieve our vision “Until every child has a chest to rest his head on and a place to call home.” We also support these children to acquire education, while their families are empowered economically and spiritually enriched in order to enhance sustainable resettlement. Since our inception in 2002, we have supported 1,244 children, with 535 children currently on the program.
The day started off with a march around Mulago on the outskirts of Kampala, to create awareness for the celebrations and also mobilize children on the streets to come and celebrate together.
The march was led by the Officer in charge of Family and Children’s unit at Kampala Division, Katy Nandy. Having police Officers marching with the children was a good change from the usual, with policemen chasing and beating them which makes the children afraid of the people in uniform. The march got attention from the general public and many people followed the group to show their support.
As planned, there were many activities on the agenda for the day. There was a group of children living on the street that presented a short play about how they end up on the street. Their story line was on irresponsible parents and child abuse. It was good to hear from the horse’s mouth the reason why there are so many children on the streets. Some children that had been re-integrated into society gave live testimonies about how they were saved from the streets and how their lives have been transformed, to help inspire the ones who are still living there. The medical team was there treating wounds, testing for Hepatitis B, Malaria, and many other medical conditions. There was hair trimming, nail cutting, aerobics, counseling and rescues. There was a lot of food for all the children to eat and drink plus ice-cream for desert.
On this day, we ran into one of the boys we had rescued two years back and had been resettled with his family. However due to continued mistreatment from his caregivers, he had ran away again and came back to the street. The first words out of his mouth when he saw Martin Kityo, the social worker in charge of Rescue were “Uncle Martin nze nkoye ebbala, njagala kugenda ku home nsome. Muntwale! (Uncle Martin I am tired of the streets. I want to go to the home and study. Please take me!)
Martin was determined to bring him back to the home that day however he lost track of the boy in crowd and is currently following up on him. We lost Ben* (not child's real name) that day however we managed to rescue three young boys, ages 9, 11 and 12. They are our first male rescued children this year. They were very excited to come into the Transitional Rehabilitation Home; saying good bye to their friends from the streets that were staying behind and promising them that their turn was coming soon.
On the International Day for Street Children, he saw a group of people marching, and even though they were wearing clean branded T-shirts, he recognized some of the boys from the street like him so he went and just joined in. He got a T-shirt and just like that he was part of the celebrations. He says he had never had so much fun in his entire life. Martin made contact with him on this day and identified him for rescue. When Martin found him, like many other children on the streets of Kampala, he was wearing his branded T-shirt from the International Day for Street Children. He says it’s warm and cleaner than any cloth he has had on the streets. Suleiman just wants to go back home. He wants to find his family. He says “I know very well where I used to stay in Congo; I know my father’s name, my mother and all my siblings. Will you take me to them?”
That is what we are here for, to see that children like Suleiman are with family. People who love and care for them.“UNTIL EVERY CHILD HAS A CHEST TO REST THEIR HEAD ON AND A PLACE TO CALL HOME”
We cannot fail to appreciate all those who were part of the celebrations in different ways. Those who prayed with us, donated, the organizations under CRANE network for planning, the media for covering the children’s stories and airing on TV and radio so that the world can hear their views, the Chief guest Mrs Katy Nandi for standing with the children and re assuring them that police is and will be on their side always, you our supporters who liked, shared, re tweeted and commented on social media, we all fed in to the success of the celebrations.
Every child needs an identity. they want to be heard. Will you listen? Will you support them to get an identity in life?
In the 12th of April; Dwelling Places along with many other organizations under the Children at Risk Action Network (CRANE) gathered at Mulago Hospital Play ground to celebrate the International Day for Street Children with the children living on the streets of Kampala. Besides the many organizations and children, there were officials from Police (Family and Children’s unit), government, and the media. It was a very good platform for the children living on the streets to speak up for themselves.
A former street child shares her story - how her life has changed
Police re-assures some of the children
A child shares his story on TV
The day started off with a march around Mulago on the outskirts of Kampala, to create awareness for the celebrations and also mobilize children on the streets to come and celebrate together.
The march was led by the Officer in charge of Family and Children’s unit at Kampala Division, Katy Nandy. Having police Officers marching with the children was a good change from the usual, with policemen chasing and beating them which makes the children afraid of the people in uniform. The march got attention from the general public and many people followed the group to show their support.
As planned, there were many activities on the agenda for the day. There was a group of children living on the street that presented a short play about how they end up on the street. Their story line was on irresponsible parents and child abuse. It was good to hear from the horse’s mouth the reason why there are so many children on the streets. Some children that had been re-integrated into society gave live testimonies about how they were saved from the streets and how their lives have been transformed, to help inspire the ones who are still living there. The medical team was there treating wounds, testing for Hepatitis B, Malaria, and many other medical conditions. There was hair trimming, nail cutting, aerobics, counseling and rescues. There was a lot of food for all the children to eat and drink plus ice-cream for desert.
Some of the children living on the streets get a free hair cut
Aerobics
On this day, we ran into one of the boys we had rescued two years back and had been resettled with his family. However due to continued mistreatment from his caregivers, he had ran away again and came back to the street. The first words out of his mouth when he saw Martin Kityo, the social worker in charge of Rescue were “Uncle Martin nze nkoye ebbala, njagala kugenda ku home nsome. Muntwale! (Uncle Martin I am tired of the streets. I want to go to the home and study. Please take me!)
Martin was determined to bring him back to the home that day however he lost track of the boy in crowd and is currently following up on him. We lost Ben* (not child's real name) that day however we managed to rescue three young boys, ages 9, 11 and 12. They are our first male rescued children this year. They were very excited to come into the Transitional Rehabilitation Home; saying good bye to their friends from the streets that were staying behind and promising them that their turn was coming soon.
Among the boys was another one called Suleiman. Because of the war in Congo, Suleiman’s family dispersed. He was only 9 and alone. He tried looking for his family in vain. When he saw a bus traveling away from the war zone, he jumped under the bus. He traveled under it for 10hrs, only getting out of there when it stopped for a toilet break or at a fueling station. This is how Suleiman ended up in Kampala. He knew no one, didn’t understand the language and had no money on him. For 2 years he lived on the streets of Kampala, fetching water for local restaurants to get a meal or some small money.
On the International Day for Street Children, he saw a group of people marching, and even though they were wearing clean branded T-shirts, he recognized some of the boys from the street like him so he went and just joined in. He got a T-shirt and just like that he was part of the celebrations. He says he had never had so much fun in his entire life. Martin made contact with him on this day and identified him for rescue. When Martin found him, like many other children on the streets of Kampala, he was wearing his branded T-shirt from the International Day for Street Children. He says it’s warm and cleaner than any cloth he has had on the streets. Suleiman just wants to go back home. He wants to find his family. He says “I know very well where I used to stay in Congo; I know my father’s name, my mother and all my siblings. Will you take me to them?”
That is what we are here for, to see that children like Suleiman are with family. People who love and care for them.“UNTIL EVERY CHILD HAS A CHEST TO REST THEIR HEAD ON AND A PLACE TO CALL HOME”
We cannot fail to appreciate all those who were part of the celebrations in different ways. Those who prayed with us, donated, the organizations under CRANE network for planning, the media for covering the children’s stories and airing on TV and radio so that the world can hear their views, the Chief guest Mrs Katy Nandi for standing with the children and re assuring them that police is and will be on their side always, you our supporters who liked, shared, re tweeted and commented on social media, we all fed in to the success of the celebrations.
Every child needs an identity. they want to be heard. Will you listen? Will you support them to get an identity in life?
