Oh, my poor neglected blog! I’ll breathe a bit of life into it with this post of some recent work for corporate clients. 

I know I said I was done blogging about Uganda, but I hope you’ll forgive me for wanting to make a couple posts of somewhat touristy travel photos. I really wanted to show a little more about what it’s like there, other than the great work that Watoto does. It’s a beautiful country, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back. 

We were fortunate to go on a mini-safari while I was there, and it was amazing. We started very early in the day (the shot of the guard hut was taken at 6:30 am and we had left Gulu at 3:30 in the morning) and it really paid off. We saw lions, warthogs, giraffes, hyenas, jackals, hippos, and lots of antelope-type guys adorned with varying lengths of pointy bits. There were elephants but they were having a little elephant party quite a ways in the distance and didn’t seem too keen on interrupting the good fun to pose for our photos. Another reason to go back I suppose!

Enjoy.

Uganda has a population of 33.4 million, of which around 8% (2.7 million, Unicef 2009) are kids who don’t have parents. It is a major issue with serious repercussions that stretch far into the future.

Last week I traveled with a Watoto social worker as he assessed the risk faced by some orphans in the outskirts of Kampala.

Rachel, 8, lives with her grandparents. Watoto has been paying her school fees and trying to keep her living together with family as long as possible. But when the social worker was driving through her neighbourhood at night recently, he saw her at the side of the road, selling something. Simply put, this was not what he had hoped for. 

He returned to speak with Rachel’s grandparents and assess their ability and willingness to care for her. Final decisions aren’t made on the spot, but the social worker indicated to me that Rachel will likely be formally adopted by Watoto and moved into a children’s village, where she can go to school and focus on being a kid again. 

To find out more about the work Watoto does, please email canada@watoto.ca or visit their website.

In 1993, Freddie Erisata was among the first 50 orphans adopted by Watoto. His mother had passed away in 1992, and his dad had died in 1990.

When his grandmother brought him to Watoto, she couldn’t have known that her grandson would graduate from law school in 2011. But she did know that he would be taken care of, and trusted that he would have better opportunities there. 

Despite being a busy lawyer, Freddie still makes time to volunteer with Watoto. On this day he was coordinating a build team from the US that was there helping to put up a brick wall and finish off some new housing. 

It’s refreshing to hear such a positive story. A young orphan in a developing country and a government battling a civil war - certainly a child ‘at-risk’ if there ever were one. But Freddie’s quiet confidence and commitment to helping others, not to mention his perseverance and dedication, show the true meaning of human spirit.

Day 5 in Uganda

Today we visited Suubi, a Watoto project outside Kampala which has a large children’s village, Baby Watoto, vocational training, and a social enterprise goat farm project.

Currently the goat farm supplies milk for the babies under Watoto’s care, and there are future plans for commercial products such as cheese. Mmmm… goat’s cheese…

To find out more about Watoto please visit watotocanada.com or email canada@watoto.ca

Day 4 in Uganda

I have now moved to Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It is home to around 2 million people, almost as many motorbikes, and one little girl named Hope.

Hope was found abandoned in a parking garage as an infant. Brought to the Watoto centre for premature and severely malnourished babies, she made a full recovery and is now a beautiful 3 1/2 year old girl with a bright future.

Yesterday I met a 2 year old blind girl who was tossed down a latrine (pit toilet) and left for dead. She was also rescued by Watoto - unfortunately, there are many such stories, but it is comforting to know that many are receiving such great care.

To learn more about Watoto please visit www.watotocanada.com or email canada@watoto.ca

Day 3 in Uganda

Today I met Florence, a young woman who spent 8 years as a captive of the LRA. Abducted in 1996 from her home, she finally escaped in 2004 with her son, who was born in captivity in 2000.

After entering the Living Hope program in 2008, Florence graduated and now is a leader/mentor for the new women entering. She also has 4 year old twins.

There is a tremendous stigma attached to having been abducted by the LRA, as most girls were given to rebels as wives in their early teens. Many were raped, and also become soldiers themselves.

Even though the conflict is officially over, these women continue to battle prejudices on a daily basis. 

To learn more about Watoto, please contact canada@watoto.ca or visit www.watotocanada.com .

Day 2 in Uganda with Watoto

Today we visted Living Hope, a branch of Watoto that focuses on helping women in Gulu. Most of the women I met today are HIV positive, and some are former abductees of the LRA.

Watoto puts women through an intensive rehabilitation program with the purpose of restoring their hope and dignity, including psycho-social care, vocational training and HIV medication. These women are then better prepared to take care of their own children at home.

In the afternoon we visited one of Watoto’s 3 children’s villages, which had over 300 orphans in a sprawling rural property. The children are housed in about 60 small homes, each with a loving house mother. They are kept together with their new mother and siblings until they become adults and move out on their own. They have their own schools and a clinic, and the teachers live in residences on the property. It really is an amazing model.

Tomorrow we are visiting the homes of some of the women who are clients at the Living Hope centre. We will be documenting their everyday life as they make progress toward a better future.

In Uganda with Watoto - Day 1

I arrived in Uganda late last night and was introduced to the Watoto team. We made our way to the guesthouse, tried to sleep, didn’t sleep, and eventually gave up trying. Devin and I chatted for a while while we waited for Tyler Anderson (staff photographer for the National Post, 2 time Canadian photojournalist of the year and all around swell guy) to wake up. In actual fact, we probably woke him up (sorry Tyler).

After a 5 hour car ride, we made it to Gulu in northern Uganda, which suffered the brunt of Uganda’s civil war. The protracted conflict left many orphans, and the continued struggles with HIV in the region have made things even more challenging. Today we visited Baby Watoto, where the babies and toddlers are cared for. Over 50 staff work 12 hour days looking after the children.

The photo above is of a malnourished 4 month old boy who arrived at Watoto last night. The team here is incredibly hard working and really impressed me!