Upcoming shipment: Uganda slum life
Harriet is 14 years old and lives in a slum in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Six years ago, Harriet’s mother died, leaving her and her three younger siblings in the care of their father. Just two years later, their father abandoned them, as the children slept at night, and has never been seen again. At the age of 10, literally overnight, Harriet became the head of her household, comforting the wails of the frightened little ones, and knowing she had no means to feed them or pay her rent.
In their 16 years teaching children in the slums, the school has developed some remarkable programs to address the deep needs of, not only the children in their classrooms, but the youth and adults in the surrounding slum area, densely populated with 14,000 people.
Harriet and her siblings were some of those identified by the school as in need of help. The school appealed to their donors and the local community for any help they could offer, and people came forward with clothing and money to pay the rent for Harriet’s small slum home. Once the children were in school, the staff began the process of matching them up with a local older woman in a ‘granny’ program, whereby elderly people living alone are matched up with children living alone, to offer stability, love and guidance. Life for Harriet’s young family has not been mended overnight, but they, and hundreds of students like them, are in a far more empowered position to support themselves in the future because of the work of this school.
