The Church Kids

There were 8 children left at a church in our community. These kids were abandoned by their mothers who felt the kids would be better off without them. This may seem counter intuitive but there is some truth to it. In desperate situations, we have seen mothers leave their kids believing that with no adult present, someone may be merciful to the kids. There is some truth to this, and in fact Arise decided to step in and help these children who had no-one to look after them.

We knew about these kids while we were still working with other children in the community. As I looked at these 8 kids waiting for help, I spotted a small child in each family and my heart fell. I just sat thinking that these little children wake up each day knowing their parents abandoned them and they may not eat. As I thought about this I decided we needed to engage with these kids too.

The 8 children came from 2 families. Arise found a local lady to help give the children a meal each day and the church agreed that they could continue to sleep in the sanctuary. Meanwhile, we began to trace the mothers. We had to make a number of trips out of town in different directions but eventually found the mothers.

Mama Scovia

Scovia was in the west. She had found a job in a restaurant and claimed she was saving a few cents each day to return to Kampala. It was difficult to talk her into returning and looking after the children but she did in the end. Scovia shared her serious concern that she had no way to help the children but came anyway with an assurance that our team would consider ways she could start a business.

Once Scovia reached Kampala and was reunited with her children, Arise began discussions with her about business options that she could undertake. Here experience with business was poor but she decided to buy and sell Bananas and was given some startup capital to begin. Scovia struggled to sell Bananas at first but with some encouragement from other community ladies she seemed to improve.

Unfortunately, Scovia started using her startup capital to undertake trips and began leaving her children at home without parental supervision. If these behaviors are not corrected then Scovia’s family will again be in jeopardy.

Mama Joyce

Joyce was staying with her sister’s family an hour of so east of Kampala when we found her. She was an afable lady and agreed to come home but also related that she had no way to support her children. The Arise team assured her that they would work with her to help find a way for her to provide. The Arise team left Joyce with buf fare and within a few days, Joyce was back in Kampala with the children.

Joyce returned to her children in our Kampala community and the kids were very happy to see her. Arise worked with Joyce to start a business selling charcoal. This business did not work well for Joyce and she had difficulty making money. Arise met with the ladies and Joyce agreed to try hocking clothes instead. With some mentor-ship from another mama we were helping, Joyce acquired some clothes and began selling door-to-door.

Joyce has again had difficulty making a go of selling kids clothes door-to-door and Arise feels she is likely not being disciplined in her business or in her personal life. It is hoped that this can be overcome through coaching.

The Arise ground team is aware that not every situation can be a success. While we continue to work with Scovia and Joyce, their results will be based on how disciplined they can become about financial matters. in addition, they will need to adopt a rigourous work ethic. Arise has now added business training to their tool-set and is coaching and monitoring their work habits. We hope these 2 ladies will turn the corner and become successful for their families.

The Church Kids

Mama Scovia

Mama Joyce

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