Kalunji, above on the left, has died. I think I shared recently that she had reunited with her brother and made the decision to return to her family village with him. She’s only been gone a few weeks.
But about 20 minutes ago, Ronald got word that she has died of a liver infection. (We’re trying to get the medical papers now.)
I’m really speechless… Kalunji came to us when she was 15 and four months pregnant. Initially she was living with her elderly jaja, but when the jaja passed on, she moved in with us. She was in our first Literacy class in 2022, then went on to Hairdressing. She had her baby, Rahim, with us, with Nurse Sherry helping her get to a private hospital. She had a brilliant smile.
We are all devastated, of course. I’d appreciate your thoughts and prayers for the girls and staff at Touch the Slum, as well as for Rahim and other family members.
Harriet came to live with us last year when she was 16 years old, with a one week old baby. Her mother was sick, the family had no food, and things were desperate.
Having never been to school, Harriet joined Literacy, then went on to Tailoring. She graduated from Basic Tailoring when we were there in April and is now in Advanced Tailoring – here she’s learning to use an interlocking machine. She’s quiet but smart and focused and happy, and doing really well.
But now her mother is making her leave.
Her mother has decided to return to her village with Harriet and her siblings, so that Harriet can support the family with tailoring. (Reminder, Harriet is now just 17 years old and not finished with her training…)
These are the situations that are so discouraging for me and for the team. As a mom in the West, I can’t imagine making my child leave an opportunity to take care of me. For the team, who sees what happens to these girls in villages, they worry for Harriet’s future health and safety.
And you know what? There’s nothing we can do about it. That sucks.
Damalie and Sarah spent a long time yesterday talking to Harriet, and she said she has no choice but to do what her mother is asking of her. Legally, it’s a little grey, but in their culture, it’s unambiguous. Harriet will, at 17, become responsible for feeding, housing, and clothing five other people.
So what do we do now?
We are putting together a video for DonorSee to get Harriet a non-electric sewing machine and basic supplies. She will also take her mattress with her, and the clothing and other items she’s been given in the year since she arrived. We normally do a “exit package” that include food and household goods, but we feel the machine is the most important thing.
Please check our Instagram and DonorSee pages tomorrow for this project. We’d appreciate your help and, if possible, your sharing it so we can send Harriet off with hope for her future.
Did you know that in Uganda, girls and women still don’t inherit land? While *technically* a father, brother, or uncle can leave a female his land, if there is any male relative living, no matter how distant a relation, he can contest the will and win.
Did you know that in Uganda, polygamy is legal?
Did you know that in Uganda there are still child brides, a “bride price”, and dowries?
That’s why this photo is so important. We are engaging and enlisting young men to stand with us against teenage pregnancy. We are educating them about the value of girls, the dangers of casual sex (Uganda has the highest per capita rate of HIV/AIDS in the world, among other STDs), and the pitfalls of teenage parenthood.
And they’re listening!
I’m not going to tell you that we have changed all 30,000 people in the Namuwongo slum, 80% of whom are 18 and under. But I can tell you that every month we have more young men stepping into our compound and learning. More young men engaging in our community sensitization campaigns. And more young men volunteering at Touch the Slum.
Culture change is hard and slow and frustrating. But it can happen! Thanks to you and your support, it’s happening every day in our little corner of Namuwongo – you can be proud of your impact!
Mwebele nnyo!
Jennings
PS We are facing challenging times as the economic woes continue in the countries from which we get most of our donations. Becoming a monthly donor, even $10/month, helps us more than you can imagine. Or you can increase your current monthly donation. Just click below! Sign up is easy and fast, and you’ll be touching lives in the slum every day.
I am devastated to tell you that we lost baby Alpha today. His 16-year-old mom, Sylvia, is inconsolable.
Alpha suddenly spiked a high fever this morning with convulsions. Sherry got the fever down and she and Mama Santa rushed him to the hospital. The hospital REFUSED TO TREAT HIM because the pediatrician wasn’t there. By the time they got to the second hospital, he had no pulse.
Our community is in shock and mourning. They are holding a vigil all night tonight.
Please pray for Sylvia and everyone in our very close-knit Touch the Slum family.
The Friday we were in the west, we were supposed to go to Rwakobo Village and do a walking tour of the several surrounding miles. This village is the poorest I’ve ever seen in Uganda, and is where Wells of Hope Primary School is located.
The best laid plans do go awry, and it POURED down rain that morning. The unanimous decision was to cancel the time at the village and go on to the lodge to start our “safari weekend” early. Cold rain, terrible roads, and herds of cattle trying to keep their feet out of the mud by standing on any hills in the roads made the drive take twice as long.
Then we came to a herd that just would not move. They stared at us, those huge Ankole horns pointed our way, and then William saw why: there was a small puppy in the middle of the road!
The puppy was huddled up and crying and very young, its eyes barely open, and there was no way I was leaving it. I hopped out of the car in the rain and the cows let me pass. I picked up the puppy but heard more crying – and there were two more in the ditch, completely soaked and shivering. Soon all three were in the car and they quickly found the warmest spot! And the cows parted for us to pass.
Even in a culture where dogs aren’t “man’s best friend,” the staff at the lodge jumped into action, started making phone calls, and found the owner of the puppies. Everyone thanked us for rescuing them. And of course we did — no one could have left them there to die of exposure.
Every day at Touch the Slum we rescue girls who are dying of exposure – exposure to exploitation, to malnutrition, to neglect.
Thanks to you, we can offer them a warm place, safety, food, reconnection with lost family, training and education, and — most importantly — HOPE.
We can’t thank you enough! Mwebele nnyo!
Jennings
PS Our clinic restock project on DonorSee is 78% funded and we just need $85 to complete it! We’d love your help to make sure we have the medication and supplies Nurse Sherry needs to keep our population healthy. Click below!
One of the two main reasons my mom, Susan, came with me to Uganda was to teach art classes to our Literacy class girls. (And the staff is begging for their turn, so they’ll get a class on Thursday!)
Susan has been an artist pretty much all of her life, and currently paints in both oils and watercolors. (Find her on Instagram at @susanfloridaartist) She teaches classes in our hometown in Florida, and loves to share her love of art.
When kids are in school here, there are occupations that are acceptable — the ones the parents want their kids to choose — and then there are those that are actively discourages. If you want to be (or say you want to be) a doctor, teacher, or lawyer, that’s great. An artist or musician? Absolutely not.
Since our girls haven’t been to school, they were thrilled to get art lessons. We’ve done one class for each Literacy class, and today they’ll do a combined class (all 20 girls!). As with anything, some girls took to it faster than others, but they all loved it and can’t wait to do more. We’ll be leaving all our supplies here, and Ronald has already started looking for more paint sets, paper, and brushes, for when these wear out.
It’s very important to us that we bring creativity, art, books, music, and fun to our programs. These are things that are rarely seen in the slum, and that are vital to critical and creative thinking.
And the girls love it!
This is our last week in Uganda, and will culminate with graduation on Saturday and Easter dinner with the residential girls on Sunday before we head to the airport.
On Thursday, I’ll update you on our trip west to Hopeland and Wells of Hope Primary Schools! It was long (3 car breakdowns!) but good (except the car breakdowns…!).
Thanks for all your well wishes and comments on Instagram! If you haven’t checked out our videos there, click the icon below.
Blessings!
Jennings (and Susan)
PS We could really use your help for our graduation. It’s the biggest (and therefore most costly) one yet, with 33 girls graduating! Click below to help – 100% goes to the project!
Sylvia is a 16-year-old mom of one son who lives at the Ross House. She came to us when she was four months pregnant and homeless. She’s worked very hard to become literate over the past 6 months, and will be learning a vocational skill in Skill for Life starting next term.
“I am smart” is not something she ever thought.
She’d never been to school. She’d never been cherished or complimented or taken care of.
But now, that was the sign she chose. We had others for International Women’s Day: I am Brave. I am Powerful. I am Worthy. I am Strong. The girls got to pick the one they wanted to have in their photo.
Sylvia chose I am Smart to describe herself, and that makes me incredibly proud (and a bit teary-eyed!).
For International Women’s Day (which is today as I’m writing, yesterday when you’re reading), I hope you’ll take a minute to check out our Instagram page (link at the bottom) and see the videos of these amazing young women taking charge of their own lives, determining their own destiny, claiming their own strengths.
Teen girls in Uganda are at the bottom of the social ladder, but slowly by slowly (mpolo mpola) we are changing that culture.
THANK YOU for making it possible!
Blessings,
Jennings
PS We launched the ecobrick water tank project on DonorSee last week and just need $130 to get to 10% so it can be visible to the entire DonorSee audience. We’d love your help – just click below!
As an only child, I didn’t get to experience sisterhood. When I had my kids, my grandmother was there to help (and yell at doctors, but that’s another story). I never really minded not having a sister, although I did dream of having an identical twin so we could alternate school days… 😀
Most of our residential teen moms, like Kalunji and Leticia above, are either orphans or estranged from their families. They came to us totally alone, homeless, and either pregnant (Kalunji) or sick (Leticia). No one has prepared them to be a mom.
But at the Ross and Suubi Houses, we have girls in all stages of “new mom.” We have girls aged 15 to 19 in residence now — there’s a big difference in those ages, and it’s great to have older girls who can help the younger ones.
Mama Santa has been in the same situation our residential girls find themselves in. She had Ronald when she was just 14! As our House Mother and Cook she brings invaluable experience, empathy, knowledge, and a touch of “buck up” to our residential program. We all need all of those things!
Our residential program is completely donor supported. It costs us about $50/month for each teen mom and her child, and some of the girls are with us for 18 months. If you want to become a sponsor of our residential program, you can do it quickly and easily on DonorSee – just click the button! 100% of donations go to the program, so you are making a huge impact every single day.
There are so many things I love about this photo. Mama Santa, who is our cook and house mother extraordinaire is also Managing Director Ronald’s mother. She had him when she was 14 years old, has never been to school, and has worked hard against staggering adversity and poverty the past 26 years.
She did her best to make sure her own kids got an education. She worked hard jobs, long hours, and made tremendous sacrifices so they could have a different life than she did.
This weekend, she prayed a blessing over her first born as he got ready to take the stage and graduate with a Degree in Women and Gender Studies from Makerere University in Kampala.
I can’t imagine the emotions she felt, but I know she danced and ululated and laughed and feasted on cake as she celebrated. It was beautiful — and what an amazing example to the teen moms in her care as they witnessed the miracle.
Ronald has accomplished so much, and still has a heart for the community he grew up in. He is the most administratively gifted person I’ve ever known, and I am very fortunate to be working with him to create Touch the Slum.
We are so proud of both Ronald and Mama Santa – hit REPLY to send them messages of congratulations and I’ll pass them on!
Blessings,
Jennings
PS We have a new project up on DonorSee for resident teen mom Christine’s exit package. Christine has been with us for about a year, coming when her daughter was under a week old. She’s done wonderfully in Basic and now Advanced Tailoring, and will graduate when I’m there on April 8th. We’d love your help to get her home set up when she moves out (soon!). Just click!
In early April 2022 we had a referral of a teen girl who was four months pregnant and homeless. (We’ll call her Angela.) Unfortunately, we had no available beds to bring her into Touch the Slum, but we were able to refer her to another program called Wamukisa.
Angela lived at Wamukisa while she was pregnant, and gave birth at Amani, who offers free childbirth to low-risk teen girls.
Unfortunately, Wamukisa doesn’t keep girls once they’ve given birth, and Amani only keeps them for labor, delivery, and a short recovery period.
That left Angela homeless once again, and she’s spent the last 6 months bouncing around between friends and evictions.
Unfortunately, this is commonplace.
Angela is homeless now and came to the compound today. Fortunately, we have a bed this time and are arranging for an at least temporary stay as we work out if she has any family she can return to.
Girls like Angela face a huge amount of fear and uncertainty. They have not been to school and have little or no family (Uganda has a huge population of orphans and the youngest population in the world, with 65% under 18). This leaves them open to exploitation and abuse, disease, and potential death on the street.
While we don’t know yet if Angela will stay with us, we try to minimize the stress and anxiety of a life of homelessness for our girls. Our residents are with us an average of a year, and don’t move out until they have the skills necessary to earn an income they can live on. They have access to Touch the Slum forever – the clinic, the daycare, even dropping by for lunch.
They have a safe place to call home, and a safe community in which to thrive.
I’ll keep you posted on Angela’s story – you are the reason girls like Angela can have a safe place to come for help, whether during an emergency or for a year.
Webele nyo!
Jennings
PS You can help us help girls like Angela by becoming a monthly donor today! Just click the button – it’s quick and easy.
