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April 5 2019

Meet Penuel: Only Surviving Child of AIDS-stricken Parents

Penuel is a 10-year-old girl who has no siblings and relatives. She is the only child of tea factory workers who both died because of HIV/AIDS. Her father died in 2013 when she was six years old and her mother died three years later.

We at Bwindi ECO Children Uganda are working hard to help her have a better chance at life. She is now in 4^th grade and she loves her English subject.

Until recently, we believed that Penuel had no family who could help her. But an ex-soldier just visited her and explained how they are related.

Penuel chose not to continue contact and communication with him, but we plan to visit him to learn more about their relationship. We believe that we have a role to play to help out Penuel.

Penuel’s dream is to one day become a lawyer. She is currently waiting for a sponsor who can partner with her to make her dreams come true.

Sponsor Penuel

April 5 2019

Meet John Davis: Future Engineer

bmdadmin Children’s Trail

Meet John Davis: Future Engineer

John Davis is the eldest of three children. When he was five years old, he lost both his parents in a fatal car accident. His two other siblings were only three and one. The three children were taken in by their aunt Mary who has six children of her own. She works as a gardener for different families and could only make so much to provide for nine children.

John’ young sister suffered and became malnourished and unable to walk, and John was often made to stay home to look after his sister. His education was delayed as he only began schooling at eight years old.

Mary’s husband unfortunately was not helping his wife and family at all. He would spend most of his time in bars. When he would come home, he would beat his wife and chase her with the children out of the house, forcing them to sleep in the bush the entire night. As you could imagine, John and his siblings grew up in a very poor family. One day, John heard on a radio talk show about Bwindi ECO Children Uganda. He decided to find BECU and was successful. After arriving, he told one of our teachers, Nicolas, all about his childhood.

We wasted no time and visited his home the next day to learn that everything John had said was true! BECU readily took in John and his older sibling in 2017.

In just one year, John’ sibling got a sponsor.

Today, John is 12 years old and is now in 5^th grade. His favorite subject is Mathematics and he dreams of becoming an engineer.

John eagerly awaits a sponsor who can help him work towards his dream. We know that John will grow up to be a hardworking young man and a loving big brother who will always look after his family.

Sponsor John

April 5 2019

Meet Rosette: From Bitter and Impoverished to Prayerful and Promising

bmdadmin Children’s Trail

Meet Rosette: From Bitter and Impoverished to Prayerful and Promising

When Rosette was only five years old, her father passed away leaving their family of five children. Their mother was not able to cope with the tragedy. In order to provide for their family, Rosette’s mother resorted to sex work and abused alcohol.

Rosette and her siblings would often be left alone in their home because her mother would have to travel to different cities in Uganda for work. One day, she never came back. The last time Rosette saw her mother was four years ago.

In 2015, the eldest of the five children was then forced to stop schooling to take care of the rest of them. Because she was only a young teenage girl, there were no good work opportunities. All the children have ever known is extreme poverty.

Tragedy upon tragedy seemed to hit their family. In 2016, a strong wind swept away the roof of their home and it rained on them for two days. The siblings have since been afraid to live in their own home because they feel unsafe.

In an attempt to find work and food, one day Rosette talked to a police woman near her neighborhood. The police woman sent Rosette to Bwindi ECO Children Uganda. BECU rescued Rosette from the extreme poverty and took her into BECU’s home in September 2016.

Rosette began to study with us, but at first she was trailing behind because it had been three years since she was last in school. It was almost as if she had just started schooling. We were determined to help her, providing her remedial teaching as she repeated her classes.

Her academic performance had improved, and now she is in 5^th grade and is very promising. Rosette is now 13 years old and dreams of becoming a nurse one day.

When Rosette first came to us, she blamed her mother for neglecting their family since their father’s passing. Together with her improved academic performance, Rosette has also found spiritual renewal and does not miss a Sunday service. She enjoys reading the Bible and leads prayers at school.

From bitterness, Rosette is now learning to pray for her mother and asks God to touch her and remind her of her children and bring her back home. Rosette says she wants to live all her life serving Jesus.

Rosette is waiting for a sponsor to support her to complete her studies and help her to reach her dream of becoming a nurse. We know that with the right support, Rosette will one day help her own community, her family, and others.

Sponsor Rosette

April 5 2019

The Persistent Student

bmdadmin Children’s Trail

The Persistence Student

Bwindi Eco Children’s home (BECU) was founded in 2013 by Francis Byamukama, a professional teacher and social worker. Francis was born in Iraaro village, next to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. He was raised in a very poor family that could not afford education for any of their 10 children.

Francis consistently asked his parents to send him to school until he was nine years old. Determined to succeed, he approached his Uncle Joram to help him get into school. Joram, a retired teacher, recognized Francis’ heart and will to succeed, so he offered to send him to a day school in exchange of labor in the evenings and weekends.

Francis quickly started school. One hour before going to school he would till the shamba (a tea garden), fetch water or collect firewood. In the evenings he would graze the goats, and in the weekends he would pluck tea, but all the same he was happy and better off than his siblings who were staying home.

At the age of 24, Francis first qualified as a grade 3 teacher and was appointed by the government as an Education Assistant (2). By this time none of his siblings had joined school and some had gone down many different paths – two were married, two were drug addicts and alcoholics, but the youngest three were still interested in school. Francis helped these three siblings to start school at Kanyashande primary school where he was teaching and started meeting all their school needs.

While teaching at Kanyashande primary school, Francis observed a number of children who would come to school on an empty stomach, with no book or pencil, no uniform and such kids would be dozing while conducting the lesson. The same kids would frequently be sent home due to the lack of payment for school fees, and their performance at the end of the term would often be poor regardless of how bright they were.

Having been down a similar road, Francis visited the children at their homes and witnessed a number of challenges these children and their families faced. The biggest problem was poverty. Francis had the desire to help, but as a school teacher with a meager salary and the current load of his siblings school tuition and fees, he was not in the position to be of much help to so many in need.

Considering the problems so many families faced, Francis decided to pursue a three-year bachelors degree in social work and social administration. He completed his studies and graduated as a social worker, and returned to start a program to help all the needy children in his community attend school.

In 2008 he attempted to start a children’s home, but failed due to lack of resources and support. But Francis was persistent. In 2013 he successfully registered a community-based organization in the name of Bwindi Eco Children Uganda. He was able to rent an office and a two-roomed house where he opened doors for the first 27 children to live.

To help with the children’s tuition at the local school, they formed a dancing and drumming group and visited lodges and hotels around Bwindi, entertaining tourists who were there to track the mountain gorillas in the nearby national park.

“Sometimes we could get tips/small donations, some of which we could use for feeding the children, buying school uniforms and paying small tuition for the 27 children in the nearby schools; other times we could not get enough and these children could still be sent away from school. This time I had no idea of how these children could best be helped.” Francis described.

To arouse community support, Francis hosted a community-wide meeting, inviting local leaders, church leaders, neighbors and parents. A number of contributions were given, including 2 acres of Land.

With the community support, Francis was able to start a private school where orphans and vulnerable children and other needy children from the neighborhood could receive a free education.

“In July 2013 we constructed a two-roomed shed-like building, in which one volunteer teacher and I started teaching the 27 children living in the orphanage, along with other children from the neighborhood. Since then we have gained trust from parents/guardians who have continued sending us their children. “ Francis said.

Today BECU has grown into a thriving children’s home and education center providing, support, protection and full-time residential care to 67 orphans and vulnerable children and education to 420 children. This institution currently has three care takers, 14 teachers, one vocational instructor, three cooks, and two watch men.

With donations and local contributions the institution now has electricity, water, a girls’ dormitory, eight permanent classes, and clean toilets. The children are fed on three nutritious meals daily. Opportunity: Partner With Us to Build the Boys’ Dormitory! There have not been enough funds to construct a boys’ dormitory, so they sleep in one of the classrooms.

Learn More

Francis concluded, “Our long-term goal is seeing the orphans and vulnerable children succeed. We shall continue to ensure their basic needs are met and they will get new life through gaining knowledge, vocational skills and life skills. They now get affection and love, and for that they will stay in school and realize their future dreams.”