(Left to Right: Tessa Davis, Namata Josephine, Nalubombwe Josephine, Nalubombwe's mother, Namagembe Topista)
I went to Kikoiiro to meet up with the guardians of the Just Like My Child scholarship recipients. I hitched a ride with Mary Goss, who was also going to Kikoiiro to meet with the community on several projects she has helped to fund. They gave us an amazing welcome complete with dancing and singing. I counseled Namata Josephine’s grandmother, Nalubombwe Josephine’s mother and Nankubuge Veronica’s mother on several issues. Chatte, who is a Kikoiiro community leader translated the information for me.
(Left to Right: Chatte, Tessa Davis, Namata Josephine, Nalubombwe Josephine, Nalubombwe's mother, Namagembe Topista)
We discussed the importance of ensuring that the children’s time is divided in a balanced way. They should spend some of their time helping around the house because culturally that is expected of them, but they work very hard at school and so therefore need some time to relax and play. All of the children brought home a holiday packet with exercises from each subject that they are expected to complete by the time the holiday is over. Their teachers advised that they do one to two pages per day, but no more in order to avoid them getting burned out over holiday.
(Left to Right: Nalubombwe's mother, Namagembe Topista, Nalubombwe Josephine, Tessa Davis)
We spoke about the necessity of the parents supporting and praising their children’s hard work. I encouraged them to come to the school on visiting days to see their children and provide encouragement. We talked about how the girls have been given a unique chance and that the opportunity of quality education must be valued in order for the children to be successful. I reminded them that these children are the future of Uganda and that someday they would be caring for their guardians. All three of the guardians commented that they would love to come and see the girls at school, but they can’t afford the transport costs from Kikoiiro to Kampala and besides they are not informed when the children have visiting days. I assured them that I would call Chatte, who is a leader in the Kikoiiro community when a visiting day is approaching and that if they could somehow manage to reach Bishop Asili they could travel with me the rest of the way to Kampala.
(Left to Right: Namata's grandmother, Namubiru Veronica, Namata Josephine, Tessa Davis)
We then conversed about the importance of the children staying safe. We discussed the many risky situations within the environment of Kikoiiro that the girls should avoid in order to ensure that the opportunity they have been given is not spoiled. The main activities in Kikoiiro are fishing, brewing alcohol, drinking alcohol and having sex. A young girl is extremely vulnerable because rape and defilement (molestation) is a common practice in Kikoiiro. We concluded that the girls should not move around the village alone under any circumstances. If it’s necessary for them to move about they should be accompanied by an adult or with a group of safety friends.
(Left to Right: Veronica's mother, Nalubega Ceciliya, Nankubuge Veronica, Tessa Davis)
Lastly we talked about the issue of the differing worlds of Kampala and Kikoiiro. We discussed how it might be a struggle for the children to maneuver between two drastically different environments. I asked them to close their eyes and put themselves in the children’s shoes and to try to imagine how they might feel if they were asked to divide their time between two very different places. This exercise was a bit challenging because many of the people in Kikoiiro have never traveled to the capital city, so it’s difficult for them to even imagine what kind of an experience these children are having. We also talked about the fact that they are going months without seeing their children and how it’s likely that when the children return for holidays they might be different from the last time they were home. We talked about how at school the children learn to be empowered and confident, which is something that is a foreign concept especially among women in the village setting and could be easily misconstrued as disobedience. We discussed the importance of confidence being an encouraged behavior rather than discouraged.
All of the guardians were extremely receptive and absolutely flabbergasted that I came all the way to Kikoiiro to discuss these issues with them. They were even more shocked when they heard Luganda coming out of my mouth! I was also given the opportunity to speak with the community. It was really Mary Goss’s day with them, but they wanted to hear from me. Many of them wanted to learn more about how they could get their child sponsored through the foundation. I explained that for now the program is being piloted with the five scholarship recipients, but that in time it may be possible to add more children to the program. I encouraged them to send their children to school in the mean time and to help their children to stay safe, so that if the opportunity presents itself they are ahead of the game.
(Left to Right: Kikoiiro Child, Tessa Davis, Chatte, Kikoiiro mother interested in scholarship program)
http://www.justlikemychild.com/
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