Childheaded household in Kishanje
The village of Kishanje is on the further west side of Uganda, very remote and very beautiful, in the hills that are absolutely full of creator’s beauty. In these hills, I saw God’s beauty, heard God’s voice calling me his “Beloved”. Most people of Kishanje are farmers, not many get a chance to education beyond primarily education (6th grade), there is 2 health clinics serving a population of 30, 000, the hospital is located hours away from the nearest town.
In Kishanje I continued working with Juna Amagara Ministry (JAM), this is their second operational site. The Kishanje site is almost similar to the site in Mbarara, with a few differences since it is still in the developing stage. In this project, there are about 60 AIDS orphans that are cared for on a daily basis, however, there is no orphanage “children’s home” in Kishanje. These children are fed two times a day; breakfast and lunch, then there is an afterschool program that helps them with their school work. This past month of February, JAM just opened their learning and training center, with a high school section and a vocational training section. This center is geared to serve those that do not get a chance to afford other high school, mostly because they are a bit far from this village which makes them boarding schools. According to the research, 2.7 billion people around the world are living on an income of $2 /day! 97% of the Ugandan population are living in this kind of poverty. This increases the number of the uneducated population.
Not only is AIDS producing massive numbers of Orphans, but it is also forcing children into adulthood at an early age, and tearing apart the family structures that for so long has been the backbone of African cultures. In Kishanje, I hang out with children from the “child headeded households”, something I have heard of but never experienced. On the day that I met Honest and Isaac, Honest (the oldest of the two, 18) was in need of money to buy paraffin so that she can find a way to study for her exams, at the same time, she was working at the Learning Center building site trying to make a few money to live by or even be able to buy a few necessities that she would need when she goes back to school. At the same time, Isaac as the man of the house was digging a ratrine which later on his friends came to help him finish. This is just one family, I met 7 families in total that are all managed by children, of all these families, the oldest care taker that I met in Kishanje was about 24 years old. As I mingled with these children, I was surprised by their sense of faith, their views of God, they absolutely have it better than I do, they clearly understand the meaning of depending on God better. Is it true that religion is the opium of the poor? In these hills I learned differently, the poor know God better than those that are comfortable, their God is actually alive and besides them from sun up to sun down, while my God is there when I just need him. There are so many child headed households throughout Africa, and there is a lot that we can all do to contribute to their well being.
