Strolling
through the dusty area of Kinawataka zone-Nakawa Division, the sound of motorcycles
reckoning the place opens up yet another busy day for the residents.
There is no
outward beauty to attract you to this place but only stories of transformed
lives. In the home of Benedicta Nanyonga who has been a resident of Kinawataka
for over 20 years are 15 orphaned and HIV afflicted girls.
Each of them have
stories to tell about their past. Some have suffered in the hands of
their relatives after their parents died while others were left empty handed
without any support whatsoever.
Such is the
story of Victoria Babirye, one of the girls under Nanyonga’s care and
stewardship. At the burial of her uncle, her sole benefactor, she was famished,
jigger wrecked and crowned with scanty brown hair. Nanyonga’s motherly
instincts over powered her to the extent of asking for the opportunity to
mother Babirye. This was in 2003.
“I remember
‘mummy’ walking up to me and I just looked helplessly at her,” the then three
year old Babirye recalls.
Nine years
later, the pain and suffering is history. The primary seven student of Mbuya
Parents Primary School is healthy and cannot wait to complete studies and
become a human rights defender. In fact, she is already taking leaps and bounds
by becoming the ‘adult’ in the home. This makes her Nanyonga’s favourite.
“Babirye is one who can take care of her
friends even when I am not around and she can ably run the home,” Nanyonga says
of her.
Even as they
face an unknown tomorrow, their faces liven up as they share their experiences
of ‘mummy’ and how greatly she has impacted their lives.
For Nanyonga,
a day when the orphans will complete the set education system and become self
dependant and turn around their lives of paucity to bounty is her desire.
Her Story:
Nanyonga
retired from her job of 24 years as senior note examiner in Bank of Uganda in
2001 to join the industry of craft makers. She informs me that all her three
children are a grown up and living on their own, the reason she hired the
services of a house maid.
Once, when
the housemaid left and returned in the morning, Nanyonga cheated death; thanks to
a friend’s help.
“That night,
I fell very sick and could hardly talk. My last words were said when I was
calling a friend and by the time she came, I was unconscious,” she recalls.
This
experience made her envision better lives for orphans and others in ghastly homes
whose caretakers could not fend for them as they found gratification in looking
after their own selfish needs.
This is why
she turned her children’s bedroom into a dormitory where the children are now
sleeping.
Managing the children;
Initially,
looking after all 15 children was a gruesome task because of the minimal
monthly income that came through the sale of her straw products. On average, it
was between shs. 300,000 and 400,000.
“Sometimes,
we were forced to eat porridge for lunch so that I could save money for their
education,” she recalls,
“Indeed, one
day we received visitors from Possibility UK and served them on porridge for
lunch too. They sympathised with us and bought my products expensively so I
could have money to cater for the children.”
Later,
Nanyonga was to turn the backyard of her bungalow into a garden. In addition,
Samaritan Purse International offered a cow that supplies the family with milk.
Her innovative self also started poultry and pig rearing at home and every
Sunday, it is a must for them to have chicken.
Her income
generating projects are enabling her to meet the children’s academic
requirements at Mbuya Parents Primary School. Their school fees ranges from shs
130,000 for P.1 to shs. 462,000 for P.7.
Richard
Omomwa, the headmaster of the school credits her as noble parent who always
inquires about their wellbeing and is involved in their academics.
“When a
child is absent she always informs the school and shows up when invited for
events. If I were president, I would make her the minister of education,” he
said.
Her moral and disciplinarian hand:
Prayer for
Nanyonga’s family is a norm. Every morning at 5:30 AM, they gather in her
workshop to recite the rosary and accompanying prayers. So it is with the
night. In fact the wall hangings in the home tell a story of a prayerful home. In
one corner is a picture of Virgin Mary lifting baby Jesus.
To work is a
must in Nayonga’s home and the lazy get their due for example they are denied
milk. Every weekend, be sure to find Nanyonga and her girls tending to the
chicken, cow and pigs and also weaving baskets and mats. In appreciation, each
is given a pay depending on the work she has done.
In addition
to working, she has instilled in them a saving culture and they pool their
earning into the Kinawataka Women Initiatives SACCO.
“How do you punish these children in case of
indiscipline?” I ask
“I tend to
demean them with words and after the third attempt, I use the rod,” she says.
As I leave,
I am encouraged that the valiant Nanyonga will do just as anything she can to
brighten the future of these children.
ninsiima@observer.ug
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