Help wanted for Orphans (by Kayla Rocca)
Ruhanga Children
For the past week Ann McCarthy (a 67 year old fiesty British grandmother of 5) and I, along with our translator Amon, have been traveling up the vast and lush hills in the Ruhanga Village with a mission to find disadvantaged families and orphaned children who are in need of assistance. We started at the bottom of the thick hills and trekked all the way to the top going from house to house.
We visited and photographed children, interviewed parents/guardians and gathered detailed information about each family unit. We came across many families who only had one parent/guardian as, in most cases, the other one has had their life taken by HIV.
Many single parents are left alone to tend to 4-7 children, as well as cook, clean, dig [farm], and attempt earn an income. We learned that many families in the Ruhanga village cannot afford to send their children to school (a school term is is approximately $20 which includes breakfast, school supplies, books, and uniforms) as they do not earn an income (this is not due to laziness or unintelligence but rather due to an immense lack of opportunity).
During our travels we came across several children who were infected by illness such as malaria and polio. We saw children fetching and drinking water from unsanitary streams, and we visited with many parents/guardians living with HIV.
Ann McCarthy and the volunteers of Uganda Lodge are determined to improve the lives of these children by supplying them with an education. With your help we can improve the lives of the Ruhanga children by sending them to school for the little amount of $5 or 3.50 UK pounds per month (A low cost of $60 (42 UKP) a year can supplies a full year of schooling, as well as a uniform, school supplies, books, and breakfast).
The following photographs are of some of the children who are in need of your help. These children are between the ages of 4-7 and have parents who cannot afford to send them to school. By sponsoring a young girl or boy you are enhancing the life of a Ruhanga child by supplying them with a satisfying breakfast and a start of a good education.
We hope that these photographs will act as a catalyst for awareness showing you a world that is far different from the one we know.
[...] I was out in Ruhanga over Easter, I met with a young Canadian volunteer Kayla Rocca and she was very concerned over the number of young children that were still up in the nearby [...]