The SALVE house didn’t escape the chaos either! There were dramas a-plenty in trying to organise ten very excited children for school. Thankfully by the end of week we are pleased to report that all ten SALVE children are safely installed in their new schools, happy and prospering, despite over-packed bags, missing underwear, lost jerry-cans and minor arguments over the trading-rate of biscuits!
(Stephen and Ronald)
For us interns, we were really lucky this week to have the chance to visit Harriet’s village as she paid her last visit there before heading off the Finland. The village was about a 1 hour (rather precarious!) boda ride from Kamuli town and was a huge contrast to our experience in Uganda so far. Far away from the thumping R’n’B on main street, the Daily Monitor, and the heated debates about the 2011 elections and anti-homosexuality bills, is the village of Kibuye.
In contrast to the occasional power cuts in Jinja, there is no electricity at all in the village. The population rely almost entirely on subsistence living; growing, rearing and fishing for their food and only trading in small amounts of money at the nearest trading centre. Many people in the village have never even ventured as far as Kamuli.
As we moved about the village, we got a clearer understanding of the vulnerable situation that many young women find themselves in. The girls are often married off by their families at an incredibly young age. One woman told us that she gave her daughter over to be married at the age of 10. After this the girls take up the burden of home-making as well as looking after their husbands who are often much older. Much of the work of cultivation and child-rearing is the women’s responsibility, while the men seem to be most commonly found at the local drinking huts, sharing some local brew.
(Men in Harriet's village)In Jinja, there are street boys everywhere, but we have found ourselves wondering where the vulnerable girls might be. Our experience in the village, illustrated that perhaps it is necessary to go a little further afield to find the vulnerable girls. Our street clinics, our main way of reaching out to the street children almost exclusively attract boys. This reflects the fact that along the streets of Jinja it is almost only boys that you will see sleeping rough and begging. The streets are too dangerous for vulnerable girls and they often seek shelter from abuse and neglect in different places.
(Local children greet the visitors!)
The girls in the SALVE house have all come from very difficult backgrounds but none of them were found begging on the streets as was the case with many of the boys. For example, if it wasn’t for a lucky coincidence with a friend of Mike’s visiting his home village, our newest SALVE addition, Blessing would never have found her way into the SALVE home. In the case of Maureen, after she ran away from home to escape being forced into early marriage, she slept in a church construction site outside Jinja and she only ventured into the town to buy food. It was on one of these trips that she met Mike, who recognised the signs of abandonment and started talking to her.
(Harriet takes a dip and enjoys a beautiful sunset)
One of the challenges that SALVE now faces is how to reach out to girls neglected and abandoned but not as visible on the streets. Certainly our trip to the village among other encounters we have had has made us feel very aware of the hidden suffering of many girls. Although there are many more avenues to explore, we are hoping to be able to expand the work of SALVE to be more inclusive of girls.
Janet and Laura
Janet and Laura
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