New hope for orphans in Koboko

By Todoko Stephen, secretary, ACCK

Atuneta Abiriya, in her New Year 2004 message to her twenty orphans, hailed MS Uganda for its favourable policy of encouraging the MS development workers (DWs) to raise awareness in Denmark about what is happening in Africa.

“Thanks to this there is hope for the orphans living in the suburbs of Koboko town”, Atuneta said.

While many people today struggle to limit their families to manageable sizes, Atuneta goes the other way. But her extended family is not a result of the old legacy of prestige or wealth. It is for the love of humanity. She recognises a child’s need for love, care and protection in a home. None of the children have blood relationship to her. They are only orphans with no homes.

Atunetas family shares a single hut. Yet it keeps expanding every other day. People simply keep bringing more children to her.

“I sometimes try to refuse them, but the children look miserable, so I take them in”, she says.

Atuneta, 60 years of age, survives on rent from seven grass-thatched huts. Each hut is rented at 4000 Ugandan shillings per month. She is also a local birth attendant from which she gets a few coins as token of appreciation. With limited facilities in the rural areas and poor nutrition due to poverty, the morbidity rates are high. Watching these mothers loose the battle against death, Atuneta is stricken with pity for kids they leave behind.

Atuneta started looking after orphans in 1977 when her sister died leaving four children. The father had no work and could not care for the three months old baby. By then Atuneta had 3 children of her own, but was out of marriage.

In 1979 Atuneta and the children fled to Sudan during the civil war 1979 – 1986. Having lost all properties, and not sure of the next meal for herself and the adopted kids, Atuneta had to find means of survival.

“I used to work in people’s gardens and was given food in return. If I fell sick, the children would have nothing to eat until I recovered”, she explains.

Later, brewing of Marwa (local gin) became her main source of income for the orphan’s care. But she had to stop brewing because of old age. Instead, she tried politicians, local governments and NGO´s to come for her rescue to no avail.

Then, in December 2002, when development worker with Tukaliri Multipurpose Association (TMA) Tine Schmidt and her husband Martin Schmidt working with Uganda Scouts Vocational School (USVS) got to know about Atunetas services to the orphans, things began to lighten up. They encouraged Atuneta and a member of the community to write a project proposal and share with the community and some well wishers.

Before Tine and Martin left Koboko for Kampala, they introduced Vivi Moustgaard, who was a development worker for Needs Service Education Agency (NSEA). Vivi took keen interest about the orphans, but within the shorter period her contract was also pre-maturely terminated. She had to leave to Denmark.

However, the good thing I have found with MS Uganda development workers is that, whenever they have identified a situation, which needs assistance, they continue to follow up. A string of communication and responsibilities to their successors is established.

Vivi is doing a lot in raising awareness about the plight of these orphans in Denmark. And before leaving, she handed back to Tine to continue co-ordinating issues in regard to the orphans.

Soon after, development worker Kristian Stokholm (TMA) and his wife Annonciata Niyombiyeyi settled in Koboko and took over the linkage. The two were able to inform their parents about the plight of these orphans. In response Kristians father, Peter Stokholm, visited the orphanage and extended a helping hand. Lately, Mie and Peter Hersted, development workers with Education Access Africa (EAA) and USVS, are also very much involved in the linkage to see that these orphans achieve their dream of being responsible citizens.

What am I saying? By not restricting the development workers to partners programmes only, and by encouraging them to raise awareness in Denmark about what is happening in Uganda, MS has enabled the disadvantaged orphans to be known and receive a helping hand from humanitarian Danish people.

Gratitude goes to MS Uganda for its favourable policies and the development workers for implementing the policies, especially in supporting the orphans morally, materially and financially.

As more is needed for the orphans in regard to shelter, food, education and health, Atuneta prays that more people, organisations and well wishers shall join the struggle to realise the orphan’s dreams.

The letter has been shortened by the editor