Baby I Love You Sew

It's lockdown. Schools are closed for two years. Your single mother has 6 children to feed...and no job. A man offers to help you. A few weeks later you realise you're pregnant. Another scenario. Your family live in the village, and when you transfer to Senior School, it's a long way from home. You move to live with your Aunt. Your Aunt asks you and her two daughters to help in her restaurant when you're not at school. Then lockdown happens. When the restaurant is closed, there is no money. The Aunt finds another way to earn money.  You fall pregnant.

As a result of Covid, rates of teenage pregnancies rose worldwide. Lockdowns left many people desperate. No school, no work, no money. 

I'm reeling from hearing the stories of two young mums on the skills training courses at the Soroti Centre. I stopped taking notes as the mums, Brenda and I relived the trauma of giving birth (with serious medical complications), having a child, with no free healthcare, or support for babies and young mothers. Grace & Sarah (made up names) talked about being rejected... by family, or the baby's father. Sarah had to work, take care of the baby, and her siblings, ... with an abdominal scar, while grieving for the loss of her baby's twin. It goes on & on. Poverty, pain, sickness, hunger, no way to afford clothes for your baby (you use your old ones).

Sarah told us that one day a friend, for Grace it was her sister, told her about the free skills training programme at Global Care Soroti. The other girls had finished courses and were now earning money using their skills. Grace and Sarah applied and were interviewed, and were thrilled to be accepted. Now they can hope again. 

Sarah is already working as a tailor on Saturdays at her sister's shop. She earns enough to buy food for her two children and herself. Grace does her friends' hair. It doesn't pay much yet but it's better than nothing. She can buy nappies. They told us the teachers are a fantastic support. They don't just train them in a skill, they listen to them and stand with them.

Another mum told me she earns small money by selling cakes she's made on her baking course. 

The girls told me about the Menstrual Hygiene programme Brenda runs. That's for another blog - but it's had a huge impact on the women. Sarah and Grace are more in control of their bodies. They understand ovulation & cycles. They can make reusable pads & teach their siblings. They said it was amazing to learn about these things. 

I took some deep breaths when they left. Tried to hold the emotional reaction to their trauma, and focus on their outlook now. These two young women have overcome impossible situations, and thanks to Global Care, can look to the future with hope of earning income. Here they have support and love as well as training. Their love for the team is evident. They are incredibly appreciative of the support they receive. They are safe.

In the UK, we receive free education, free healthcare, rest following surgery. We have child benefit, free antenatal and postnatal care. So much trauma - and they're only 21 and 22 years old. Maybe now you understand why I love Global Care. Local managers see a need, develop a proposal, discuss with the UK team, and a plan forms. But nothing happens without funding. Shameless marketing... It costs about £82 to train a baker on a one year course. It's more for tailoring and hairdressing (but still only about £316 for tailoring), as their materials are more expensive. 

It's the contrast that gets me every time. Traumatic stories & the hope brought into young lives & families for an independent future... for a relatively small sum (to us). 

Now we're off to eat a meal cooked by the trainee bakers, including the samosas we watched them prepare this morning. Happy Barbara! 

Tomorrow we start for home. We have to say goodbye to this awesome team of staff and teachers, but I'm leaving encouraged and with even greater respect for the work of Fred and the Soroti team. Part of my heart is  always in Soroti. 

If you'd like to support Global Care, as well as sponsorship, there are plenty of other ways to contribute. Xx

Other Ways to Give Global Care

Love it when a plan comes together

I love Soroti, but a two day trip has it's own challenges. As usual we left the UK with a plan, which is now shredded. Too many choices, too little time.

It was great to be at the Soroti Centre again. These days I rarely move fast, but when we arrived this morning & I saw Sam, I jumped out of the car & ran for a hug. We couldn't stop smiling. Six years is a long time to miss your friend. And Brenda, the brilliant childcare manager. Happy days! 

We started our visits at a school. The whole neighbourhood knew we'd arrived... 100s of shrieking,  laughing nursery children. Eventually they went for breakfast, and we met 10 children who are sponsored by Global Care.

We took photos, chatted, & met teachers. As the children talked to us, we quickly recognised a safeguarding issue. The team responded with love & care, then discussed immediate needs. Global Care has an excellent safeguarding procedure & we know they will make sure this girl is safe, and find long term solutions for her situation.

Our next visit was to Asuret to meet members of a new Disability Support Group. We entered a room filled with adults and children. Some had obvious disability. They greeted us with warmth & a lot of handshakes & smiles. We had many introductions & greetings -  conducted in 3 languages, Ateso, English, & Uganda Sign Language. I have incredible respect for families bringing up disabled children in this environment. It's tough. Global Care supports DSGs by helping with set up & some children are sponsored. Salume is the Disability Support Officer. She visits children at home & helps families navigate support services as well as providing practical help (like mobility aids), & supports the DSG. Through Salume, GCare has had direct contact with 413 disabled children in two years. Wow.

The children grinned at us, loved having photos taken then looking at the pictures on my camera. We played with a child who struggled to the front for fist bumps & to stroke our white skin. His laughter was infectious. His smile was beautiful. 

Then we visited another DSG. A few people came, the rest were at a village burial.

DSGs are essential in this area. They provide a place for people affected by disability to share, learn & grow. We saw children who can now walk because Gcare provided a walking aid. One mum said her child used to stay in the house. Now she can walk to the toilet & go with her siblings to fetch water. We met disabled children who are sponsored. I could write a whole blog on the effect of sickle cell disease on children, the impact of not being able to access medication.

It's late, I'm tired. But once again, I'm left reeling at all Global Care does for families in this district, and how many lives have been changed through their work. Yes, there are challenges, but the team face them & look for solutions. 

I'll go to bed thinking of the people we met today, of their challenges... Real challenges sometimes life or death situations, not agendas. And I can't thank the Uganda teams enough for their work which supports thousands of children. 

Tubes for Breakfast

The reality of working in Uganda is that just when I'm confident it's all going brilliantly, I write a blog, save it, & the WiFi crashes, & loses the blog.

So here are highly edited highlights... 

1. We ate a lot of food at the conference. The breakfast buffet was interesting. Yesterday I rejected offal with boiled matoke. Today I realised I've had potato (aka Irish her) 3 times a day every day.

2. The local Global Care managers are utterly brilliant. Yesterday they presented branch reports. So many life changing projects for children & young people.

3. I continue to be astounded by what can be achieved with so little funding but a shed load of compassion, love, hard work & persistence.

4. Global Care gets my vote for a trustworthy, effective charity. I never get tired of stories of lives changed by sponsorship. Children & families lifted out of poverty. Children I knew as tiny, hungry, desperate had access to education, food, healthcare, & welfare support.Now they're independent adults, some earning enough to support themselves And their families.

5. There will always be children trapped in poverty or unable to achieve academically. But they can read and write & apply for work. 

6. Can't do everything, mustn't do nothing, can do something.

7. Tyres will get nails but can be fixed! 

8. I love Soroti. So happy to be here. Can't wait for tomorrow. 

9. Steve has a weird way of team building. 

See you tomorrow for more adventures. 

Vital Signs

You prepare your presentation with care. You spend many hours analysing data, writing reports, and finally packaging the information in an easily absorbed colorful printed summary. You plan workshop activities & write headings for flipcharts, & develop a carefully timed agenda. You ask if you can invite 3 guests. You pack your bags with anticipation and excitement.

The day arrives, and before breakfast, you begin to realise you are completely unprepared. Again! Welcome to a day discussing disability in Uganda...

We're staying in a very nice hotel... Comfy bed, running water, good food, gorgeous views, plenty of birds to entertain my amateur ornithologist husband. But, our rooms are on the 2nd floor & the conference room is on the 1st floor, and there's a steep drive from the hotel reception to our building. One of our invited guests, OT, has a total leg amputation & uses a crutch to walk. We forgot to check about stairs... despite knowing our friend's mobility challenges. Worst of all, inviting him to a day discussing disability. We made sure we have a sign language interpreter for our deaf friend, Simon, but forgot about OT's comfort. The chairs weren't great either. 

That sets the scene. There's a statement disabled people have, "Nothing for us without us." We needed our friends to be with us to help us in our discussions... We should have involved them in the physical planning too. 

We discussed disabled people's rights, & legislation - in the UK & Uganda, & the ECHR. We had a quiz. I got 2 answers right out of 11. Before our first 'break tea' I'd been challenged twice. 

We talked about the Rukungiri project, & the evaluation results. We considered ways we can potentially support children with disability (CWD) to access education, & the kinds of barriers we might face. Then we discussed other Global Care projects for disabled adults & children. It was fantastic to to have OT & Simon there, pointing us in the right direction, questioning some of our ideas, reminding us of the rights and experiences of CWD, telling us what is... and more often what isn't available for people with disability. They brought us practical examples of the reality of their lives as disabled people. We think we have some understanding. We have virtually none. OT described applying for jobs & being rejected for being disabled, the lack of accessibility in buildings, the general attitude of discrimination that sees disability as a sign of worthlessness. I pray I never stop being shocked. 

And what does 'inclusiveness' really mean? Simon gave us a great illustration, & emphasised the importance of accommodation being accessible & appropriate (this includes schools), & the differences between equality & equity. 

We ended the day thinking about how Global Care can be more inclusive of disability in all projects. It was brilliant to hear the love & concern from our local teams, & their desire to understand disability more, & do more for CWD. 

Steve started today by asking us what we'd taken away from yesterday. There was universal agreement that it was a great day, challenging, & shocking at times. We can't thank OT & Simon enough for showing us how much more we have to learn. And how much more there is to do. Tom talked about treating people with love & respect, whatever their circumstances. 'Unconditional positive regard.' The managers' reflections once again highlighted their compassion & love for the vulnerable people who live in their communities. It was emotional... 

'We have a sponsored boy who is deaf. We should invite a sign language interpreter to the Christmas party.' 

'We've always considered the neediest of the needy children, but we didn't think so much about how disabled children are the most needy.' 

'When I see OT & Simon then myself, it is a demonstration of what we heard. Life is changing & we are making a better change (considering CWD).'

'Yesterday was an eye opener. I never thought about the children living amongst us who have disability. We need to look for them. We can see where no one  else is working & that is where we will go.' 

So it was a brilliant yet heartbreaking day. I don't think it would have mattered what we'd prepared. The day was definitely OT & Simon's (and the sign language interpreters). 

Back to the Future 2

It started when I packed my hat. The hat I've worn for Global Care trips for the last 17 years. I began reminiscing about that first trip in 2008. Gosh Uganda has changed, and Soroti in particular, the location of trip number one.

In 2008 we visited camps for Internally Displaced People. I remember walking round a camp holding hands with a gaggle of little girls, shocked by the poverty & lack of sanitation, tumble-down dwellings & pools of filthy drinking water. We talked to people with dull eyes & fatigued expressions who recounted the horror of living under the LRA insurrection. We heard horrific stories of hiding from gunmen, being caught in cross fire, the abduction of children forced to be child soldiers. It was tough stuff. I cried every day. It was too much. Too hard, too horrific.

Then we were taken to see the work of Global Care. We visited schools feeding their community through agriculture on land bought by GC. We visited families & met sponsored children whose lives were turned around by being able to go to school. We heard successful professionals explain how they were supporting their whole extended family... thanks to being taken onto the sponsorship programme. 

We were bowled over by the local & UK teams, and by their love for the broken & destitute (photo from Dec. 24). Challenged by their motivation and determination to reach out to the most vulnerable people, and their work to break the cycle of poverty for families living on the edge if survival. We witnessed examples of improved sanitation, new fresh water supplies, and education & healthcare to those for whom it was completely out of reach. 

David commented last year that I'm still wearing the same hat. It was christened, 'The hat of tears', in memory of my endless pathetic sobbing. It should really be 'The hat of hope.' David admitted he showed us the worst situations first, then when he'd broken us, he revealed Global Care's life changing interventions bringing hope & expectation for vulnerable families. 

That early trip changed us. It made us see that up to that point, we'd been passive supporters and observers. We'd happily fork out for monthly sponsorship, but without understanding. We had no active participation, no championing the work of Global Care. We went to Uganda thinking we were pretty good on the giving front, brave to go on a trip. We came home humbled & passionate, knowing it's not about us. Positive outcomes depend on the hard work & commitment of those local teams. But goodness... Global Care makes such a difference. 

Uganda changed.. More about Soroti later in the week.  Unimaginable poverty is still here, & the rich/poor divide ever increases, but infrastructure is modern in towns. Our hotel provided us with familiar conference facilities & the electrics look pretty safe (not the bare wires in the bathroom we used to see). Global Care changed too. Now in addition to sponsorship & schools partnerships, there are vocational courses, community projects, disability initiatives, and an understanding that projects need to be sustainable. Children & families should be thriving - independent of outside help & self-sufficient. Projects here are led by local Ugandan managers & teams, support communities in a locally relevant way, & are increasingly community led. 

I'm so excited to meet up with the Ugandan teams again, our friends. What an inspiring & humble group. The kind of people you want to spend time with. They build us up. David & Moses have spent 17 years showing me the effectiveness of proper listening (I'm a slow learner). They listen first & speak with authority & vision, whether it's advocating for a child, or planning a new project. And their faith in God inspires me every time... 

Today we're preparing for our presentations & workshops. Anticipation has overcome anxiety.. although I feel ill equipped to face the mighty men & women of the board. The ones I know fit into my potential for hero worship category. Wow! What a force for good & for God. 

It's going to be good. I just hope David doesn't come armed with more 'crying' stories! 

Back to the Future

'It always seems impossible until it's done.' This is going to be a stonking blog... it starts with words from Nelson Mandela! Which reminds me of something my friend Moses said in a Zoom meeting last week. We were discussing *Global Care’s disability project, which looked at different interventions to help children with mobility disability to get to school.  This year Moses and Penlope, the local Global Care team in Rukungiri, have been collecting data for a project final review.  When asked if his attitude to children with disability had changed, Moses said, 'It seemed impossible, (for them to go to school) but after some time it is possible.'

This project has been an active part of my life for 6 years. In 2019 Tom & I visited Rukungiri in Southwest Uganda, and Moses & Penlope took us to meet children living with disability (CWD) in rural homes. We went to schools, met local disabled people, and talked to local craftsmen who make crutches and other wooden aids for CWD. We visited hospitals. All the children had issues accessing schools.  The project ended in December 2022.  Now we're supporting the team as they assess the impact of the project for the 19 children who took part. I'm helping to write a final report, and analysing feedback data from interviews carried out in Uganda.

The project also supported the children's families to believe in possibilities for their children, and themselves. It's incredibly challenging to live with and support a disabled child anywhere (I know I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’ve watched you). Imagine a place with no free health or social care, no practical or financial support for disability, and you’re living in extreme poverty. Very few places have adaptations like ramps for wheelchair users or accessible sanitation. Teachers have little training in working with disabled children.

Global Care thinks about families! Sustainability initiatives were introduced to help families transport their children to school (bicycles), and to encourage income generation. In Uganda, livestock are a kind of banking system and for this project, were chosen to potentially enable families to continuing paying for school once the project ended. Did I say no truly free education? Caregivers must pay school fees, provide uniform and food, while also buying medicines or paying for transport to hospitals for their disabled child, and trying to provide basics and food for their whole family. Owning livestock means families can sell an animal in times of financial crisis (needing medical treatment), or with large outgoings (children’s termly school requirements).  The system works as long as the animals keep healthy and are multiplying.  

At this stage it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to tell you the detail of the review outcomes... The report hasn't been signed off or shared with anyone outside the operations and Rukungiri team. However, a few weeks ago, we had another one of ‘those’ conversations with Steve, Global Care Head of Operations.  He asked if we'd like to go to Uganda and present the report to the Uganda National Board… and take part in the Uganda managers annual conference. In 6 weeks’ time!  We said yes, after a bit of deliberation. We've spent the last month discussing the findings and editing the report, attending meetings (online with UK & Ug teams), planning agendas and workshops... and faffing with visas & flights. We go on Sunday (5th October), for a week.

I'm excited & somewhat anxious. It feels a big responsibility... With the help of two of our Ugandan friends who have a disability, we're going to support the local teams as they consider what disability inclusion means for their projects. And presenting to the Board? There's a slight (?) language difference to overcome as a start. Will I remember how to speak Ugandan English syntax?

So here’s a few headlines… 14 children are now regularly attending school. The desolation of living isolated at home is gone. No longer alone and afraid, discriminated against and thought of as no use, the children are integrated, learning, sociable, and improving in their mobility and confidence. Their families believe their children have hope for the future... & their expectations have changed. I’m still buzzing from meeting some of the children in December at the activity camps – if you missed the blog, you can read more here: https://darton2soroti.blogspot.com/2025/01/please-can-i-play.html

These children have without a doubt changed my life. Their resilience and joy leave me realising Global Care are absolutely right in their motto – 'Can’t do everything. Mustn’t do nothing. Can do something.' That something can seem really small to us but can be the difference between desperation and believing you have a future. These children were without hope, now they know they are loved and appreciated, they have self-worth, dignity and are beginning to understand they have the same rights as their able peers.

Time for more from Nelson Mandela, 'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.'  Seeing the children in December was a revelation.  Watching them interact with UK volunteers and schoolteachers who didn’t know them was brilliant.  They make a huge impact on everyone they meet. One teacher said to me, ‘This one is so clever.’ Another said, ‘I didn’t know these children can go to school.’ Maybe it's time to start believing these children can change the world.

I'll update you next from Uganda... 

*Global Care is an International Christian Children's Charity. Tom and I have been volunteering with Global Care since 2008.

Please can I play?

 A trip to Uganda in 2008 changed my life – seeing overseas projects first-hand and meeting the local partners who plan and run the programmes, gave me a fresh appreciation of Global Care.  More importantly, I realised that my notion of ‘charity’ and my understanding of development work were based on old-fashioned ideas of the rich helping the poor. My eyes were opened to the concept of respectful collaborative partnership working – and community led initiatives. Privileged to visit more overseas projects, to volunteer in different capacities, and receive training, I’ve been challenged, enriched, stretched and encouraged.  

The Children with Disabilities (CWD) initiative, started in 2018 in Rukungiri, Uganda, aimed to assist children with mobility impairments to participate fully in school education. As volunteers, Tom & I visited Rukungiri, to support Moses and Penlope, the local team, with project management. Some of the children had started school, but most didn’t go regularly and arrived late if they did manage to limp or crawl to school or be carried by a parent. 

On our first visit in March 2019, the children were mostly at home. Their parents tried hard to support their disabled children, but living in remote impoverished communities, with minimal access to healthcare, most children were isolated with no chance of an education. Many were rejected by their communities. Moses and Penlope worked to support these children despite the covid pandemic. Accessible toilets were constructed at four schools, and children were supported by provision of mobility aids and transport to school. 

Fast forward five years, and most are in education, travelling to school on bicycles provided by Global Care. The project has ended, but Moses and Penlope keep in touch with the children where possible. They are invited to join in with central celebrations at the Rukungiri office. The local team are confident that 11 children will continue attending school, this is partly due to the economic stability provided by donated livestock as these can be sold as they breed, in order to cover costs of school fees and family emergencies in the future.  

It’s December 2024. With Steve, Head of Operations at Global Care, and David Oumo, Acting Uganda Country Manager, we’re helping to lead a trip to Rukungiri to run four days of children’s activities. There are 11 on the team, including David. It’s hot… it’s only 8.30am and it’s roasting. Our bus drives onto the school field and I’m relaxed, glad that after a good debrief last night, we have a revised plan for our second activity day. Children begin to gather and as we park the bus, several rush over. We climb off the bus and unload some sports kit. Before long the field is full of children kicking footballs, throwing netballs, skipping, and playing games with hoops. I do my usual scan to make sure all the children are involved in something, and my eye is caught by four young children sitting under the marquee.  

I walk over, and feel my mouth breaking into a huge grin, my eyes are damp… I know these children. I shout, “Hello!” … and they glance across.  What if no-one remembers me? I’m waving frantically, and then I see a smile spreading on *Bowen's face.  I try to remember all their names. There’s *Frida, a lovely girl with a marked scoliosis of her back, she must be about 12 now, she proudly showed me her end of year exam results in December 2019. I’ll never forget *Bowen and his cheeky laugh – I watched him walking with an adapted walker five years ago – he’d hardly left his home. Now I know he’s at school. I spot *Michael. Left at home alone while his parents worked in their fields, I’ve never seen him smile and he was shy and afraid when we visited him. Penlope comes over, that’s *Abel, she says, he was a baby when you met him, just 2, do you remember? Yes, I can see the crying toddler hiding in his dad’s arms.  

Tom comes over and starts organising games with the children. He calls their mothers over and sets them throwing beanbags through a hoop seated on their chairs. The giggles start. They get really good at it. Moses appears with a brightly coloured mat. Time for some different games. The children move to the mat, and we start more throwing and catching games. Tom sets up a seated game of ‘volleyball’.  

Then my heart literally leaps, I’ve spotted *Timothy, walking towards us. Timothy sees me and breaks into a grin.  I’m going to have trouble keeping my emotions in check today.

I first saw Timothy sitting on the floor at a back of a school classroom.  Through the disability project, an accessible toilet was built at Timothy's school (and another block of latrines for all the children), Timothy was given a special chair with a desk so he could write and be alongside his peers. On our second visit, 9 months later, Timothy calmly got out of his chair, walked to me, and gave me a massive hug. 

After a short time playing with us on the mat, Timothy gets up. He’s seen his friends, *Marvin, and two other boys, *Emmanuel and *Elliot playing football with Clive and Zara. Emmanuel has a new lower leg prosthesis! My smile is pulling at my face, this is incredible.  

The children on the mat are joined by *Grace, another child I never expected to see walking and interacting and laughing. As the children break into groups and go off to do crafts with Clare and Cathy, I’m delighted to spot *Tracey joining the dancing snake heading for the classroom. Throughout the day the UK team make sure the younger children are included in all the activities. I stay with them and ask for a teacher to translate. We do jigsaws, they make paper angels and jingle bell bracelets, when there’s singing and dancing, we do our best to join in.

I get out my finger puppets and we descend into a giggling mass – helped by a teacher who throws himself fully into the activity.

When the play parachute comes out, we make sure all the children are included. I can’t stop smiling... and half crying, as the five children go under the parachute, shrieking and laughing as they reach up to catch toys falling through a central hole.  

At the end of the day, the children receive certificates of attendance and are covered in stickers! I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this project. In 2019, the extent of the children’s isolation, untapped potential and lost opportunity was devastating. Today they are fully integrated, relatively independent children. Some are doing really well at school. The severely disabled children are laughing, interacting, and their mobility has improved tremendously.  Able-bodied children have helped their disabled peers throughout the day – in lots of different ways.  No stigma. This is without a doubt the best trip I’ve been on, so much change in just 6 years, hope and a future for children who were lost in darkness.  Thank you, Global Care, you have my appreciation and admiration for how much can be achieved with so little.  

*Names changed to protect children's identity.