Scholars,this a link to possible schorlarship.Take your chance,it could be a turning point in your life.
http://ugandascholarships.blogspot.com/
Friday, February 19, 2010
THREE UGANDAN SISTERS
his is the story of 3 Ugandan sisters, aged 10,8 and 6 years old.
A member of the Gulu Rotary whom I have known for three years, said that he wanted me to meet two university students. The women are junior partners to Rotary.
As they were working on a project helping people in distress, they had come upon the three girls. Their story is heart breaking. The father of the two oldest girls died a while back. The man they suspect to be the father of the third girl does not claim responsibility for fathering her.
The mother, faced with poverty and wanting a better life, abandoned the children. They were left in the care of an elderly grandmother. The grandmother did her best to care for the children. In October she passed away. As is the custom she was buried right in the mud hut compund where there are some other family graves.
The girls have absolutely no way to take care of themselves. There is no adult who is there for them. They live in the grandmother's mud hut, which is slowly falling apart. The thatch on the roof is partly open to the sky and needs to be fixed. The mud construction where there should be a door has deteriorated. An old piece of cloth hangs there. When I went inside the hut, I found a mattress on the floor that the three share. Clothes are disorganized, some hanging on a string. For water, there is a broken ceramic pot. There is no means of making a light. The parafin lamp has long ago run out of parafin. When darkness comes at 7:15 each night the girls are left in darkness. A traditional mud hut means of cooking is a very small clay stove. The rains through the thatch have ruined the stove. The toilet facility is made of bricks over a pit latrine. It has no door for privacy. The girls place some jerry cans in front of the door for some privacy....but not much. The place to shower is a brick walled enclosure about 4 feet high. They simply splash themselves from a basin of water. Again, there is not much privacy.
The single greatest worry is for the girl's safety. Anyone could take easy advantage of them. They cannot lock themselves up for the night in the hut. If they need to use the facilities at night, they are vulnerable. Luckily their health has been good, since they have no access to medical care.
The university women have been asking the local rotary for donations so they can provide food to the girls. But it is not a regularly maintained schedule. The women say that particularly during exam times at the university they have a difficult time getting away.
While we were there the women were able to find a maternal uncle to come. I think that my presence as an American is the only reason he came from his village. He says that he has his own family and other orphans he helps and cannot help these girls. Since the grandmother's death, this was the first time he had come back to see the girls. It was obvious that there was not any affection between the girls and himself. In Ugandan culture it is important in these situations to have an adult family member present as documentation that we are not taking advantage of the children. It has been all documented on video.
A happy note: We asked the children to show us how they amuse themselves, There is a swing on a sapling that looks like it should not hold them. There are some traditional African games using seed pods in a series of indentations in the ground. They are very proficient at these games.
Before our departure, we asked the oldest what would be her greatest hope. She simply stated that tho have someone to take care of her and her sisters and to have food.
We left on motorcycle and went to town to supper. Just after we entered the restaurant, an incredible downpour occurred. All I could think of was the open thatch roof and their bedding. The floor of their mud hut will turn back into mud.
A member of the Gulu Rotary whom I have known for three years, said that he wanted me to meet two university students. The women are junior partners to Rotary.
As they were working on a project helping people in distress, they had come upon the three girls. Their story is heart breaking. The father of the two oldest girls died a while back. The man they suspect to be the father of the third girl does not claim responsibility for fathering her.
The mother, faced with poverty and wanting a better life, abandoned the children. They were left in the care of an elderly grandmother. The grandmother did her best to care for the children. In October she passed away. As is the custom she was buried right in the mud hut compund where there are some other family graves.
The girls have absolutely no way to take care of themselves. There is no adult who is there for them. They live in the grandmother's mud hut, which is slowly falling apart. The thatch on the roof is partly open to the sky and needs to be fixed. The mud construction where there should be a door has deteriorated. An old piece of cloth hangs there. When I went inside the hut, I found a mattress on the floor that the three share. Clothes are disorganized, some hanging on a string. For water, there is a broken ceramic pot. There is no means of making a light. The parafin lamp has long ago run out of parafin. When darkness comes at 7:15 each night the girls are left in darkness. A traditional mud hut means of cooking is a very small clay stove. The rains through the thatch have ruined the stove. The toilet facility is made of bricks over a pit latrine. It has no door for privacy. The girls place some jerry cans in front of the door for some privacy....but not much. The place to shower is a brick walled enclosure about 4 feet high. They simply splash themselves from a basin of water. Again, there is not much privacy.
The single greatest worry is for the girl's safety. Anyone could take easy advantage of them. They cannot lock themselves up for the night in the hut. If they need to use the facilities at night, they are vulnerable. Luckily their health has been good, since they have no access to medical care.
The university women have been asking the local rotary for donations so they can provide food to the girls. But it is not a regularly maintained schedule. The women say that particularly during exam times at the university they have a difficult time getting away.
While we were there the women were able to find a maternal uncle to come. I think that my presence as an American is the only reason he came from his village. He says that he has his own family and other orphans he helps and cannot help these girls. Since the grandmother's death, this was the first time he had come back to see the girls. It was obvious that there was not any affection between the girls and himself. In Ugandan culture it is important in these situations to have an adult family member present as documentation that we are not taking advantage of the children. It has been all documented on video.
A happy note: We asked the children to show us how they amuse themselves, There is a swing on a sapling that looks like it should not hold them. There are some traditional African games using seed pods in a series of indentations in the ground. They are very proficient at these games.
Before our departure, we asked the oldest what would be her greatest hope. She simply stated that tho have someone to take care of her and her sisters and to have food.
We left on motorcycle and went to town to supper. Just after we entered the restaurant, an incredible downpour occurred. All I could think of was the open thatch roof and their bedding. The floor of their mud hut will turn back into mud.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
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