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Health & Fitness

Blog: It's Just Peachy in Uganda

Encouraging orphans and albinos in a poverty stricken society.

Disclaimer: The views expressed on this website are entirely my own and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.

Today I spent a few hours getting to know Richard, Benjamin, and Thomas and the wonderful work they are doing. These three gentlemen, along with a few others, have big hearts for the needy children of Hoima district. Their goal is to provide for those who live in the worst conditions, who have no family, and who have been shunned by society. A year ago, Mr. Maate Richard established the Bunyoro Orphan and Albino Helpers Organization.

This organization consists of a two-room office at one end of a duplex, down a dirt road in the very outskirts of Hoima Town, Uganda. There is no running water and no electricity. However their vision is big: To have an orphanage where these children can live healthy and happy lives. A place where they eat balanced meals, where their medical needs are cared for, where the water is fit to drink, and where they have hope for their future.

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Our first stop was a one-room shack in which a mother lives with her five children. The father is deceased. The mother does not work and is HIV positive. Recently a pastor, preying on her misfortune swindled her out of her property. Richard helped her get legal help so she now has her property back. She plans to plant rice as the only sustainable food her family has is maize.

Our second stop was to see four children who live with their aunt and her three children. This generous woman works hard in her garden to feed these seven children and pay for their school fees.

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The third home we visited was that of a grandmother who took her grandchildren in when their parents were killed in an auto accident. This woman grows coffee trees on her property and spends most of her earnings on alcohol. Their latrine is a shallow pit with boards placed across which floods the surrounding area when the heavy rains come. The chickens and goats sleep in the house with the family because she is afraid the neighbors will steal their animals. The children are all barefoot. Disease is rampant.

At the last home we visited a little girl who was on treatment for worms. When Richard first saw her, before he was able to get her to the hospital, her belly was very swollen. Now he proudly says, “She is looking nice!” This is also the house in which a mother from another town gave birth. Failing to deliver in the hospital and choosing the local way was this mother’s downfall. With her labor came complications. When the locals tried to forcefully pull the infant out, they ruptured the mother’s uterus and fractured the infant’s arm. The mother died and the baby was left outside under a bush. Thanks to a phone call, Richard got medical attention and provided soy milk for this child who is now thriving.

All these homes were built with mud and sticks, most with grass roofs. All the children were barefoot. Many exist on a diet of maize or rice and a few fruits which grow on the trees nearby.

Next I met, through pictures on the computer, some of the albino children. These are children in which the genes which produce melanin (the pigment which causes coloring of the skin) are not functioning correctly. Not only is the skin and hair usually white, but there is significant visual impairment also. These children are shunned, outcasts from their families, friends, and society. Sometimes they are killed. Skin cancer is common. It costs more effort, money, and medical care to properly raise these children; and because of this, they have little hope for a positive future.

That is where Richard and the other helpers come in. They are God’s light in each child’s darkness. For 31 orphans and 12 albino children they do what they can, out of their own pockets. They provide transport to medical care. They help with school fees. They help to dig and plant. They solicit for sunscreen. Their work plan for 2013 includes providing school supplies, clothing, and shoes; testing the children for HIV; and purchasing land for an orphanage home.  But Richard’s ultimate goal, the one that comes straight from his heart, is to build the children up with encouragement and give them hope for their future.

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