Julius Ochen and family working in the Kireka quarry.I came across this article and I encourage everyone to read it, especially if you sponsor children at Christian Upliftment. It deals with the exact location/quarry- called "Kireka quarry" that the children and families from CU work in. It's not far from the school. It also deals with one of the reasons I decided to build a school in Apac.
"Many of the women at the Kireka quarry want to return home, as do most other IDPs. Previously, they lived among their families and benefited from a small and supportive community. Today, they live in a ghetto aptly called the Acholi Quarters (Acholi being their ethnicity). They struggle everyday for survival and wonder what happened to their husbands and children. They are not equipped with the necessary skills to barter and argue their way in an urban environment where they're largely cut off from family and community connections"
One of the families that work in the quarry are that of my three sponsor children- Doreen, Jackline, and Christine. They left school a few months ago to join their mother in the quarry. Their father died a while ago. Hellen recently tracked them down to see how they where doing. They now live with some friends as they where vacated from their small mud house and it's extremely crowded. Hellen is looking into an income generating project for the mum which will allow the girls to go back to school. I will keep everyone updated!
From left to right mum, baby, Doreen, Jackline and Christine.
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3 comments:
Wow- really interesting article. I am a bit confused though- if you are sponsoring the three girls, why are they not in school? I thought the sponsorship money paid for them to go to school. Maybe I am reading it wrong?
Just sent a package and letter to Rebecca!!
I was their sponsor when they where in school, and hopefully we can get the mum to be in a position to put them back in school, but unfortunetly sometimes sponsor kids will leave the school because they move to a new village or have to work. Many are returning to Apac which is another reason why I choose that district to build a school. The chances of the kids being pulled out of school once they have a sponsor highly decreases because their guardians/parents realise that someone is helping them to a brighter future- something they are unable to do alone.
ooo, okay that makes more sense! I hope they are able to get back in school soon.
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