Statistics

According to a Save the Children in Uganda (SCiG) publication, "The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a major root cause of childhood poverty. HIV related death accounts for about 50% of the orphans in Uganda, where one in four households hosts at least on orphan."

What is Family Planning and Why is it Important?

In all countries across the world, there are a lot of myths and criticisms that go along with "family planning," but this is especially true in developing countries where people rarely receive advanced education or accurate information in regards to their sexual health and reproduction. One of the leading problems in developing countries is that this lack of information leads to massive families for which parents are unable to provide. Children are frequently undernourished, uneducated, and impoverished as a result of large, unmanageable families.

Family planning encompasses everything from deciding to wait to have sex or deciding to use contraceptives or deciding to have a small family that you can support. Family planning also entails more controversial aspects such as sterilizations and abortion. Often family planning is synonymous with contraception or abortion, but involves many other important aspects that are overlooked because of this misunderstanding. Spacing children is family planning. Sexually transmitted disease testing is family planning. Sexuality education is family planning. Pre-natal visits and parenting programs are also family planning.

It is a growing concern that these misconceptions and false information are the leading causes of child neglect, abandonment, malnourishment, disease and lack of education creating a cycle of suffering and extreme poverty from which it is difficult to break free.

But there is hope for the future. After his holiday visit, one young man from BULA, told me he was concerned about his mother, "She does not know about family planning, and she keeps having babies. Everyone there is suffering, the conditions are bad". Because of good eduction and countless opportunities that have been given to him, he sees the problems of having too many children and not being able to support them. He, like many others young people who I know, is planning on a small, manageable family so all his children can go to school.

Please read the article from the New York Times entitled, "Where Life's Start is a Deadly Risk" about the health risks to women in Africa related to childbirth. More than 500,000 woman die annually due to complications with childbirth, half of which are in Africa; a number that would be significantly lower with increased reproductive education and pre-natal care - two important aspects of family planning.

Successful Fundraiser Update

I just received exciting news from my friend and a kindergarten teacher from the Camp Hill School District in Pennsylvania. In her elementary school, the teachers conducted a fundraiser to raise money for St. Kizito Primary School and BULA Children's Home. Knowing the importance of reading in a child's education and development this teacher encouraged others in the school to get involved to raise money for books for the children in Uganda.

Her students watched our video (there is a link to the right) and learned about life in Africa. Parents began to call this teacher to inform her that their kindergarten students ran home from school and could not stop talking about helping the children in Africa. How exciting to think that students at such a young age are developing a sense of social responsibility and global awareness.

The children were encouraged to contribute money towards a book label which they could donate in honor or memory of someone else. Teachers also put piggy banks in the classrooms so students could donate their spare change. A few weeks later, the funds were counted and the result was 4X the anticipated goal.

The labels are being printed and will be sent to Uganda. I will purchase the books here, insert the labels, and distribute the books to the home and the school. This fundraiser was easy, it was fun, it was educational, and successful. Think what this one small school accomplished and how it will benefit the lives of the children at the primary school and the children's home in Uganda who have limited exposure to books.

The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. ~Thomas Jefferson

The whole process of starting BULA Children's Home has been... well, it has been quite a process and I've learned a lot along the way. I've learned loads of Luganda, I've learned a lot about Ugandan government and the legal system, I've learned how to twist the knobs on my car battery before starting the engine, and I've learned that the children who are in our care have families.

We've known the children for years but in their previous orphanage they were forbidden to talk about their families. Some of the children even lived a few feet away from the houses where their families reside and were not allowed to talk to them. Now that they are in a safe environment the children started to talk. You can only imagine our surprise when the children spoke about brothers and sisters, Aunties and Jjajja (grandparent), even mothers and fathers.

Immediately BULA Children's Home set out to find the families. The process took time, but was relatively easy. About half the families live in the village of Gganda where St. Kizito Primary School is located. The other half of the families live in a village called Ntuuma, about 2 hours west of Kampala.

Contact was made... mpola mpola (Slowly slowly) and arrangements were organized for the children to go home for one or two weeks over their school holiday. Parents were overjoyed. Children were ecstatic. It was an amazing experience to be there while families were reunited after years of separation - in some cases guardians had not seen their children in 5 years.

I felt as if I was relearning the children who I thought I knew so well. Family resemblances were amazing. Tears of joy, hugs, and laughter filled the moments when guardians saw the children who they love and brothers and sisters were together again.

Keep checking the blog, as I will be writing more about reuniting the families. I will discuss child policy, vulnerable children, and describe the conditions of life for some of these families.

Luganda

Webale nnyo! - Thank you very much.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

... but, tekisoboka (it is not possible). I have been trying to post photos and videos to go along with my blogs, but unfortunately, my internet connection will not allow me to do so. I will keep trying to upload them to give you a better understanding of life in Africa, but part of that understanding is patience with impossibly slow internet!

School

I am happy to tell everyone that all school fees have been paid for the upcoming term. This is exciting news as this expense is the largest cost we have at BULA Children's Home and the most important.

I am also pleased to announce that the children in secondary school are all changing schools to make sure that they are receiving the best education possible. The children all did very well in the first term of school after the shift to the new home. There are a few children who struggle academically and in the second term of the year they will receive additional help to ensure success in their studies.

Most of this was accomplished through the generous donation of one amazing supporter right here in Kampala. The support from our contributors has made all that we've accomplished possible. From everyone at BULA we cannot thank you enough.