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