"For sure, life in Kiteso (slum) was difficult since our mother had no source of income. She could neither afford to feed us nor pay for the cheapest grass-thatched hut where we slept.” Jennifer says. ”Mum’s friends got fed-up with us and eventually evicted our family”
Children's Voices
Alice is a karamojong girl aged 9 years and a second born out of 5 children. Of these one is a boy and four are girls. She lives in Namatala slum in a rented grass thatched structure. Both her parents are alive though Alice’s father abandoned the family and does not provide any support.
Born in 2003 as the first born to her parents, Shamim is one of the children that were formally on the streets due to harsh living conditions. Her father divorced with their mother in 2007 during which period the mother had a long illness and he left for Juba in Southern Sudan and has never returned.
Vicky is a total orphan. She recently became an orphan due to a natural disaster that took place in Nametsi her home area where both parents were buried by a landslide in 2009. Many other people were also buried alive and very few people survived.
Vicky and her brother survived because they were in school which was far from the incident.
Susan, aged 13 first came to CRO Lira drop centre in 2014 after engaging in child labour on the streets of Lira town, Northern Uganda as a result of the harsh living conditions at home where they could hardly find food, clothing and neither go to school.
My parents left their original home because of land problems in which they nearly lost their lives. They settled in Namatala slum in Mbale. After a short while, my father left us and we have never seen him again. We did not have anyone to buy food for us, so I escorted my mother to the town to beg.
Born in 2008, Mercy a 2nd born in a family of 3 children lost her father when she was only 2 years. Due to cultural beliefs, her mother was mistreated by her in-laws as they took all the property that was owned by their late father / husband respectively.
I was very traumatized, because being the first girl in the family, I nursed my parents and watched them die one by one, including my little brother. Left with only grandmother, life was also not easy because she was aged and sickly. I once again took over responsibility to care for her.
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