Vulnerable children reunited with families to reduce on numbers in child care homes

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Two children homes in Mukono municipality are tracing and reuniting children with their families to reduce on the number of children in the homes.

The homes which include Good Samaritan in Nasuuti and Kuza home in Seeta trading centre argue that they are running out of funds to look after the children.

Kuzi home which started in 2002 is known for rehabilitating street and vulnerable children while Good Samaritan caters for disabled children.

Abdul Sebi the manager at Kuza home says for about eight years, they have been surviving through donations by well-wishers led by Kenneth Brunsvold of Boston, USA.

However, Brunsvold succumbed to cancer last year. He adds that much as Brunsvold’s family continued offering support to the home, funding was halted in April following the COVID-19 outbreak.

He notes that they are facing difficulties to feed the 30 children at their centre on top of meeting medical supplies. According to Sebi, they need more than 1 million shillings each month for operations.

Fred Migadde the coordinator Good Samaritan home says the situation has forced them to return about 10 children to their families since June after failure to look after them.

Currently, only 25 children have remained at the centre.

He reveals that they spend more than 2 million shillings every month on feeding and medical services.

Goma Division Community Development Officer Carol Amuwati wants the government to support the children since many of them have no families.

“Centers can only trace for parents with families that shifted from one place to another looking for a better living before the outbreak of coronavirus,” Amuwati says.

Mukono Probation officer James Ntege notes that most of the children’s homes approach his office seeking for support. The district has 25 registered orphanage homes.

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