Street Children

A group of us had the privilege of visiting Ingrid Wilts at the Christian retreat she has been creating on the banks of the Nile. A stunning place but her story is even more incredible. She has dedicated her life to Uganda's street children, working here since a student and establishing the Child Restoration Outreach project which now works all over the country. She has faced many, many challenges over the years including being shot, having multiple treats on her life and being arrested and thrown out of the country. All for being seen as a threat to the establishment. But she has never given up and remained totally committed to the most vulnerable children in the country.

After time at the retreat, Ingrid took us to the CRO project in Jinja and introduced us to Noah and the team of staff who work with around 200 5 -17 year old Street Children at any one time; there are an estimated 20000 in total in Uganda. There were 70 children in the project today. It's a rather dilapidated building with a central courtyard and rooms off. We played games with the children and they sang songs to us. Before lunch they sang worship songs and prayed. Despite the desperate situation the children are in, there was so much joy in that place. They had smiles on their faces the whole time and were genuinely delighted to see us and each other and to spend time with us. CRO aim to get alongside these children to find out what they can about them and trace their family. With no national birth register this is incredibly hard. When they find the family they will assess whether it is appropriate for them to return or if placement with another family member or even a foster family is possible. Reintegration is fully supported and a school place found. The children are monitored until CRO can be sure the placement is successful. However, until all of this kicks in the children remain on the street. No organisations provide beds for children as they know many more poor families would abandon their children if there was someone else to look after them.

As we go to beds in our hotel each night we wonder where they are. Are they safe? Are they warm and dry? It was heart breaking to spend time which such joyful children who live in such abject poverty and face daily challenges and risks that the vast majority of westerners cannot even comprehend.