Stable Foundations

One of the greatest privileges of our trips to Uganda is meeting sponsored children.  Our Ugandan children write to us twice a year, and its particularly encouraging when they recognise us from photos we’ve sent, or remember things we’ve written.  We started sponsoring because we knew about Global Care through my Mum, and the time was right for us. We had two children and a good income, and we wanted to support a vulnerable child. 

On our first trip, our youngest son, Pete, who was 17 at the time, came with us.  He was so moved by his experience, seeing the lives of children here, and meeting a girl he’d written to since they were both 7, he asked us to sponsor another child. Now he’s older, he’s continuing the sponsorship himself.  We were introduced to a scared shy boy, dressed in ragged clothes, his single mother struggling to provide for him and his sister. His tiny bag contained half an exercise book, a razor blade to sharpen his stub of pencil, and a slice of potato for his lunch.  With education, improved nutrition and medical support, he’s grown into a healthy teenager, still at school –  still not over-keen to talk to us, but we are a bit of an embarrassment in front of his friends!

In Kampala in 2010, they showed me pictures of a waiting list of cute little children, with horrific stories of poverty, neglect and abuse.

Today we met a boy we’ve sponsored since baby class who is doing well, and now in Primary 1. He seemed cheerful and bright.  He recognised us from photos we’d sent.  He goes to Guiding Star School in Kampala, a colourful happy place, where he is both loved and educated.

We have a sponsored girl whose brother beats her. Global Care local staff work hard to support and protect her, and keep her safe. We have another who has never done well at school. She’s a timid child who struggles to meet our eyes, and never seems to remember who we are. She was abandoned at birth on a neighbour’s veranda.  GC have decided she should move schools – to a smaller school where she’ll get more attention, and hopefully have a better chance of learning.

All the children we’ve sponsored over the years come from very challenging backgrounds. Some do really well, like the girl who is now married to a teacher and runs her own business. Others not so well, like *Sarah, who had a relationship with a teacher and became pregnant. But …they are all loved by the staff here, and they are loved by us – which of us has children who didn’t make bad decisions at some time in their life?  *Sarah had to leave school when the baby was born, so her sponsorship paid for a hairdressing course.

Coming here over the last 8 years, and meeting sponsored children who are now managers, doctors, teachers, lawyers, I know that sponsorship alters life potential. We’ve met struggling guardians, visited inadequate homes, seen the effects of destitution in this country (I’ll never forget the homeless man in the hospital, or the babies at Amecet).  But children are not sponsored in isolation, this charity is about family, community, sustainability.  Extremely vulnerable sponsored children can become self-sufficient adults, now supporting siblings with their own education.

This trip, we’ve visited communities supported by GC who have improved access to water, sustainable agricultural projects, schools with staff accommodation improving teacher retention, and feeding programmes for younger children. GC is not afraid to tackle HIV/AIDS support or Hepatitis B vaccination – knowing that providing long-term sustainable solutions often needs high short-term investment. As we come to the end of our trip, I really do believe what I said two weeks ago, that GC is saving lives, and giving people with no hope a chance to believe life can get better – and frequently, it does.

*Name changed to protect identity