Hope For A Child-Headed Household
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“Do you remember what you were doing when you were 11-years-old?” My family and I had just moved into a brand-new house. My brother and I began attending a new school and I remember being so excited. I met two of my lifelong best friends that year and we are still in touch to this day.
For Karim, life was anything but fun or exciting.
6 years ago, 5 children were abandoned by their parents – including then 11-year-old, Karim. The youngest child was only 2-years-old at the time and Karim became head-of-household. Due to the vulnerable living conditions, the oldest sister became pregnant at 19 and moved out. As a result, Karim became both a father and mother to his 3 younger siblings: Grace, Bashir and Pamela.
Can you even imagine the weight of this responsibility at such a tender age?
Karim, Pamela and Bashir share their heartbreaking story with Social Worker, Winnie Nakalembe, and show her around their tight living quarters (shown above).
Today, 17-year-old Karim is a determined young man and struggles every day to provide food, pay rent, cover medical expenses and school fees for his sisters. In 2015, Karim dropped out of school in P.5 (4th grade) to work as a casual laborer in a liquid soap workshop. His brother Bashir also dropped out and began an apprenticeship at a local bakery where he earned very little – if anything at all.
Hope was running out until Children of Uganda stepped in.
Our team found out about the child-headed household through local officials and we stepped in to help immediately. When I sat down with Karim and his youngest sister Pamela earlier this year, he couldn’t look me directly in the eye. The trauma of his life was visible and deeply painful. He shared his story with one of our staff members and she translated for me. I have witnessed so much heartache and poverty in Uganda – but nothing like this. He broke down explaining how difficult it has been stretching the $28 he earns a month to care for his younger brother and two sisters.
Karim was informed that he and his siblings had been chosen to join our Family Empowerment Program. They would also be one of two families participating in our pilot FASTrack: Family Accountability & Sustainability program.
Karim was justifiably pessimistic about the support we could provide. He shared that – over the years – many people had come to meet them. They would take photos and promise to help out and never be heard from again. I asked my teammate to tell him I was not there to take photos or to make empty promises. We were there to assure him of our partnership and desire to empower the entire family.
Since then, we have also been able to secure full education sponsorships for both Pamela and Bashir. As much as Bashir enjoys baking, he dreamed of going back to school and certainly that’s where a 13-year-old boy should be! Their other sister Grace is attending a day school and we are committed to helping Karim make those payments.
The family also received new beddings (2 pairs of bedsheets and a blanket), food supplies, sanitary pads for the girls, a brand new dress for Pamela (custom made by dressmaker and COU graduate, Allen Nabiwemba), a 250 liter water tank (to improve sanitation and safe access to water), and a mobile phone for Karim to facilitate communication with his siblings and our staff.
One of our board members is investing in weekly counseling sessions for Karim (which began in April) to help him process the trauma of his past and to instill within him confidence for the future. Family counseling for all of the siblings will follow.
Once we determine Karim is ready, we will also provide training and support for him start-up an Income Generating Activity (IGA). His dream is to establish his own liquid soap business and become financially stable.
Karim opening up about his past for the first time to his counselor (shown above)
As we left Karim’s home the day I met the family, he whispered something to our Program Director. She told me in the car that he never thought anyone would ever love them again. In fact, he has shared that with our team a few times.
