It’s very difficult to imagine that just over two weeks ago, we were saying our goodbyes to all the wonderful people we met in Uganda... Whilst readjusting to our familiar yet alien surroundings in the UK – culture shock in your own culture is a very strange feeling – the last four months are beginning to feel like a magnificent dream.
Uganda is a remarkable country. Its fertile soils and diverse landscape support an equally diverse culture of peoples. Tragically, a large proportion of these people face daily struggles against a sheer lack of opportunity and the debilitations of poverty. Globally, the young are burdened with great responsibilities. Comprising over 50% of the population, a lot of Uganda’s children are faced with ever more complex predicaments, as the all-encompassing suffering poverty causes inescapably and dynamically affects them. These children are increasingly expected to serve the ambitions and hopes of older generations, carry on the bloodline and, indeed, ensure the future development and sustenance of Uganda’s many cultures and societies.
There are a large number of children living on Uganda’s streets. As an ‘outsider’, interacting with some of these children on the streets of Jinja during street clinics verified in my mind that in a country of such diversity and sometimes disparity, children are a unifying force capable of bringing people together and to common ethical grounds. With time, patience and under the awe-inspiring guidance of Mike, a number of these children came to trust us and view us not as ‘muzungus’ with big wallets, but as friends. A number of children still living on the street in Jinja can speak English well, and over time we were able to learn more about their experiences and the varied, complex and always case-specific reasons as to why they are on the street.
Ashiraff, a friend and street boy in JinjaMike Asiya has devoted his life to these children, and to fighting for the rights of all young people in Uganda. He spends a considerable amount of his time interacting with Jinja’s street children, building a rapport and relationship of trust with them. Witnessing their response to him is something I’m sure Emma and I will never forget. Calling him ‘Uncle Mike’, they trust him and recognise him as a symbol of hope and compassion. Mike understands the role of children and youth in bridging gaps between people, and through his counseling recogonises that they are not simply passive recipients but actors and participants in a society that is sadly, at times, cruel and unforgiving. Many of these children are living on the street during an age when some of the most high-level, complex social skills are being honed and critically developed. These years denote a period of life for all of us that are transitional in nature and crucial for identity construction.
Therefore, the effects of living on the street during these years can be considered particularly momentous. Mike directs his team in the street clinic programs to acknowledge the fluidity, contingency and open-endedness of these children’s processes of identity formation and encourages a focus on the ease at which they make connections. Just as a life on the streets will change and create social relations, so will a return to family life and education. Guiding S.A.L.V.E. with his years of knowledge and devotion, the organisation provides these children with a sense of hope, reconciliation and forgiveness – often fighting against the stigmas of society, he believes and has faith, as does S.A.L.V.E., in each and every individual that with some help, they can turn their lives around.
Once this is instilled in the children, and as S.A.L.V.E. allows the space for them to make their own choice to leave the street, a process of rehabilitation can begin. In consultation with Mike, we decided to change the strategy of the street clinics. During our time out there, three new children were brought into the S.A.L.V.E. rehabilitation centre. This was only after they expressed a desire to come, and once in the home, a slow process of rehabilitation back to a life at home could begin. This process is provided with patience, love, security and understanding. To witness the transformation in these three boys was phenomenal. It was amazing to see them flourish, gain confidence, and become children again, something we will both never forget, and which holds testament to the remarkable work of S.A.L.V.E.
Asuman and Isma playing in BugembeOnce the children are used to the structure of being part of a family again, and again they express a desire to go home, restorations are attempted. It was concluded from experience, that restoration attempts have a tendency to fail if a child is taken home directly from the street, as they are not accustomed to home life and have not had the time needed to come to terms with their past, achieved through the counseling processes offered by Mike and the team. S.A.L.V.E. International practices a great understanding of the autonomy of children, and the realities of the decision making process in which actual children engage - from a life on the street through to rehabilitation. S.A.L.V.E. attends to the immediate needs of these vulnerable children, whilst taking account of their concerns, desires and realities, which serves to better their interests and future development in the long term.
Bettering the lives of Uganda’s children lies at the heart of S.A.L.V.E. International’s mandate. I hope that working in Nakanyonyi Primary School may have helped to create links between S.A.L.V.E. and Uganda's education system that can be built upon. And with Mike leading the way, we became involved in a number of campaigns during our four months. As a new member of Jinnet, a network of Ugandan NGOs, S.A.L.V.E. was able to demonstrate its commitment to children’s rights in a number of different ways. Movements to protect children’s rights are gaining momentum in Uganda and it was really great to be a part of that. It was also great to see Mike’s confidence grow as he was given the reverence and admiration within these circles he so deserves. His trip to petition parliament in Kampala on the issue of child sacrifice, a practice that is devastatingly common within witchcraft practices in Uganda, heralded his confidence and determination, and shows the forces that are coming into play in Uganda for the government to recognize the issues that face children on a daily basis.
S.A.L.V.E. is a young organization which is growing. Providing assistance to street children is at its core, but there is a recognition that it is at the local level of community, family and the children themselves that social relations will be talked about and lived through, where the root causes as to why children go to the street exist. It is this recognition that lay the foundations to our initiation of community education in Mafubira. Working with the Ugandan team, it was understood that the projects can best start by taking on board people’s own perspectives and subjective experiences as a knowledge base for the needs of any project we begin. So after consultation, the writing of proposals and a generous donation from Angie Rees in the UK, we were able to begin the bead-making project with 15 women in Mafubira, an impoverished town near Jinja where a large number of street children originate from.
The bead project in MafubiraThis in now in full swing and with the help of Rose, the trainer, we hope that we have provided the skills and knowledge required for the women to manage it themselves, providing them with a sustainable income that will enable them to better support their families, and in turn, reduce the number of children who may have potentially taken to the streets. They are now producing some beautiful items of jewelry ready to be sold here in the UK, and in time the online shop will also be set up so they will be easier to purchase.
S.A.L.V.E. International, with the generous help of its supporters, now provides care to twelve children in the home, who are back in education and provided with a home environment that is centred upon care and love. To have been a part of this unique and beautiful family is something Emma and I will cherish always. Each and every child on the S.A.L.V.E. project is an example of the hope there is for other children still living on the streets in Uganda.
The S.A.L.V.E. family at last year's Christmas partyOur four months in Uganda was a very steep learning curve, with its fair share of ups and downs, frustrations and delights. Witnessing the unwavering devotion of Mike to the children of his country was totally inspirational. He’s a remarkable man who holds his work in his heart and under his guidance and with continuing support from people in the UK and further afield, we know that S.A.L.V.E. International will go from strength to strength. Thank you for reading and for your support and thank you to all the incredible people in Uganda for making our time there so memorable and special.
With love,
Imogen and Emma xx
