Child Protection

One such story is about a mother who came to our offices looking very sad and hopeless seeking help because her husband was not supporting her in raising and caring for their children and on top of that he was a drunkard who beat her often. She had run away from her marital home because she feared for her life and the lives of her little ones. When she left her home, the husband asked her to leave some of his children with him and one of them was a young girl of about 8 years. The mother was very worried that her daughter will not be cared for by her father so she came to our office to ask us to help get her daughter to her for safety and her well-being.

We went to their home and carried out thorough investigations and we found out all that the woman had told us was true. So we arranged with the local authorities to approach and talk to the father and husband as a way of mediation before taking other serious action. He agreed to meet us and the mediation went very well. The man was told to stop drinking and take responsibility of his family. We prayed for him and asked him to allow us to follow up and ensure that his family is well. The mother agreed to go back home with the help of the local authorities and Justice Livelihoods Health. So in the end the children got both their mother and father back and the home is happy again. It took a while for the father to stop drinking but we are praying each day that God will completely transform him.

We are thankful to God for the lives of children that we have been able to touch so far and we believe that He still has a lot in store for us. There is a lot of abuse cases in the whole of the Northern region of Uganda.

PRAISES:

 - Thank God for Provision that we are able to respond swiftly when a case comes up.

 - We are grateful to God for protection as the staff of go out to do God’s work every day.

 - Thank God for the courage and boldness to deal with caregivers and parents that are very stuck on following cultural values that are harmful to the children that are in their care.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1.   Please pray for the fathers, that they would take their responsibilities seriously and actually be involved in their children and wives’ lives.

2.   We have the 16 days of Activism for gender-based violence coming up next month and we are going to take lead. Please pray that God uses this opportune time to touch the hearts of the spouses who resort to violent treatment to stop the violence.

3.   Pray for one of the teenage mothers that we work with as her little girl has been in and out of the hospital for the past 6 months with a very swollen throat and the doctors are doing their best to get her well again. Pray that God heals the young girl and also provide for them as they now have no means of making a living as they are at the hospital most times.

We value your prayers and support!

Yours in Service,

Valerie Kasamani Kisaber

Child Protection Trainer,

Justice Livelihoods Health, Gulu, Uganda.