Kakooza

John Kakooza was born on Dec. 12, 1993 in Lugazi, Uganda. He was raised by his father. He never met his mother. John’s father was an alcoholic and physically abused him so as a young boy of seven John ran away to the streets of Kampala. He lived on the streets for two years and survived by begging and collecting scraps of plastic and metal to sell.

John

John said, “The life was very hard by that time because I was young. I had nowhere to sleep and no food so life was very bad. Sometimes I used to look for scraps and bottles to sell and get money, but sometimes I failed and I had to look through rubbish for leftovers to get food.”

John said he would rather live on the streets than go back to living with his father. His father is a farmer and still lives in Lugazi. John said, “The life (on the streets) was hard but I had freedom.”

One day when John was living on the streets he was walking around with his friend looking for scraps and his friends showed him an organization that could help him. John decided to ask that organization for help and soon after he moved off the streets and into a house for children. John said he was tired of life on the streets and he desperately wanted to go to school. Unfortunately the organization John was living with was not well funded. They barely had enough money to feed the kids much less pay school fees. Despite the poor conditions at his new home John lived there for four years hoping that one day he would be able to go to school. Eventually the organization shut down and the boys were transferred to Cornerstone Development’s (HALO’s current partner) youth program.

John lived at Kibuli home for two years but during that time Cornerstone did not have enough funds to send all the kids to school so John still wasn’t in school. He continued to wait patiently for his turn to begin school. John said he wanted to study so much so he would look for other organizations that could pay his school fees, but he never had any success.

Finally in 2008 when John was 15 he moved into Bukesa home and was able to start school. He was very excited once he moved to Bukesa and could begin school because as John said, “that was my dream.” He entered school at the primary four level even though according to his age John should have been in high school. John completed primary school at the end of 2012 at the age of 19. Although HALO gave John the opportunity to continue his education at the secondary (high school) level he wanted to pursue a more practical course. After not attending school for most of his childhood John really struggled to do well in his classes. John loved school and was very grateful for the opportunity to graduate from primary school but school was not where his strengths lie and he realized that. John applied for the HALO scholarship at the end of 2012 and was given the scholarship to continue his education doing a training course in hair dressing. John will begin his training in October 2013.

He said, “I am so happy (about the scholarship) because I didn’t expect someone can spend all that money on me.”

Below is an interview with John about his upcoming training and his future.

What are you most excited about?

“The opportunity to learn a new skill.”

Why are you interested in business?

“For me, it is a simple job where you can get money without too much struggling. If you know it well you can start a small business.”

Why are you interested in hair dressing?

“The reason why I trained for hair dressing is because in this country there are always new hair styles.”

What is your plan for the future?

“I want to start my own salon and another business after that.”

“I want to be independent. That’s mostly what I need. I want to have a house for my babies and wife.”

“In my dreams I want to be a good dad and a good businessman.”

Barbara

Barbara is one of HALO's scholarship recipients. After the HALO kids finish their formal schooling through high school they can apply for a HALO scholarship. The scholarship allows them to continue their education. They can choose to go to a vocational school and learn a trade or go to college. Since most of the HALO youth in Uganda spent years without attending school before they came to the HALO homes they are far behind in their education and many of them choose vocational school. Barbara is an amazing young woman who despite a hard life always manages to see the good in the world. She is bright and bubbly and very fun to be around. She overcame numerous challenges in her life to get where she is today. Barbara is on the path to achieving her dreams and we are so proud of her. 

Barbara is 20 years old. She’s been living in Lungujja home since 2009. Barbara was born in a small village called Migori in Kenya, but she grew up in Kampala, Uganda because her mother was Ugandan and her family moved there when she was young. Her mother died when she was four years old. She was raised by her father and her brothers. Her dad had a steady job so he was able to pay for her to go to school as well as take care of the family. They had a happy life together. Then in August of 2007 Barbara’s dad passed away. Barbara said that was the saddest day of her life. After he passed there was no one left to pay for her to go to school so she started prostituting herself. She would sleep with many men in order to pay for school. She lived with a group of girls who she also worked with. Barbara would go to school during the day then go to the streets at night. She said she had no other options. She said, “I really wanted to study but no one would pay my school fees so I was selling my body. I had many many men.” Barbara lived like this for two years. Finally she was connected with an employee from Cornerstone Development (HALO’s partner in Uganda). Barbara was offered a place in Lungujja home, a home for girls who have worked in the sex trade. She said she gladly accepted the offer and immediately moved to Lungujja home.

Barbara received the HALO scholarship last year and she is currently enrolled in vocational school at the Uganda Catholic Management Training Center. She will finish the program in December and receive a certificate in Social Work and Social Administration. Barbara already has a job lined up with a nonprofit called Acacia Designs. She will make t-shirts, and continue her education. Acacia Designs will pay for Barbara to continue in school. She is going to stick with Social Work and Social Administration but this time she will receive a higher degree. After she completes her second year of school Barbara still wants to continue with school so she can pursue her dream job. She said

“I’ve always wanted to be a journalist. It is my dream career to one day be on screen, look for news everywhere, and read it to the people.”

Barbara is very happy for the time she spent in Lungujja home. She said, “I was happy to come here. I like the transformation that I went through when I came here.” However, she is looking forward to living on her own one day. She is excited to work and provide for herself. 

Stella's Story

Like so many of the youth in Uganda Stella has had a really hard life but unlike many youth in Uganda Stella was able to find an opportunity that allowed her to rise above her circumstances and succeed.

I am sharing this with Stella's permission. When I asked her if she minded if I share her story publicly she said no; she said she didn't mind because she is not ashamed of where she came from and she wants people to know. 

Stella has lived in the Mengo home for four years now. She has always been dedicated to her school work, and now her hard work and dedication has paid off. Stella was accepted to the best university in Uganda, Makerere University. She will pursue a Bachelor of Science in Population Studies.

Stella grew up with her mom, grandparents, and siblings in a rural area in Western Uganda. Stella was able to attend school but she lived a very hard life. Her mother struggled to support her and her siblings. When she was in her second year of secondary school her mother was no longer able to pay her school fees, so she went with her brother to search for their father. They found their father but the living conditions were even worse where he lived. The father had multiple wives and too many children to count. He worked in another district so he was never around and left Stella and her brother under the care of his wives. The other families did not accept Stella and her brother in to their lives, so they were neglected and treated very badly. Stella and her brother endured these conditions because they did not know what else to do, but in the end the wives forced Stella and her brother to leave their home. They kicked her out in the middle of the night. Stella had nowhere to go that night so she and her brother slept on the ground in the middle of a banana plantation. The next day they made the journey back to their mother’s home.

Once she was back at her mother’s home an uncle decide to bring Stella to Kampala and pay her school fees. Stella moved to Kampala to live with her uncle and his wife, but the uncle never kept his promise. He continually told Stella he was going to pay for her to go to school and that she just had to wait but he never followed through. While she waited for her uncle to take her to school she was working at their house as a house cleaner. Stella knew her uncle was never going to keep his promise, but she held on to the little bit of hope she had left that one day she would get to go to school again. Then one day she met a girl who was collecting water from the same well. Over time Stella and the girl became friends. Stella told her new friend about her situation. The girl happened to be in contact with a mentor from Cornerstone Development (HALO’s partner). The girl was offered a place in a Cornerstone youth home but she did not want to go because she was already attending school, so she offered her place to Stella. Stella was more than happy to accept the opportunity to go to school.

The next day Stella moved into Mengo home, but at the time (2009) HALO was not yet partnered with Cornerstone, and Cornerstone was not able to take on Stella’s school fees at the time. She just needed to wait until the next year. She was happy to wait. Then in 2010 HALO formed a partnership with Cornerstone and began supporting every child in Mengo home. Finally after a long and difficult process Stella was able to continue her secondary level education. Stella worked very in school and she did well which got her to where she is today, a university student.

This is Stella with a copy of the newspaper her name is printed in for being accepted to Makerere University

Below is an interview with Stella.

What about going to college are you most excited about?

“I am most excited about the fact that I am joining the most beautiful university in Uganda. It is very hard to be accepted there. Even if I’ve not touched the sun at least I’ve touched the stars.”

Are you scared about going to college?

“Not at all. I am very happy and proud.”

What was the hardest part of your journey to this point?

“Before I joined HALO school fees were my stumbling block, and moving long journeys from home to school.” Stella explained that she had to walk very far every day to get to school. She said it was hard to stay late and get there early and the teacher would beat her for being late and not having all her homework.

What was the most joyous moment in your life?

“When I completed Senior 6 (the last level of advanced secondary school) because I never thought I would reach that level.”

What was the saddest moment in your life?

“When I was in Senior 2 and the people (my step-mothers and siblings) I was living with chased me away.”

Was there any point when you thought you might give up?

“Yes, when our father neglected us and didn’t give us anything. I thought I was born by mistake. I thought I was the problem. Our mother struggled so much that we thought maybe we shouldn’t be alive.”

What do you want to do after college?

“I will search for a job so I can support myself and my family. I would also like to continue to get my masters.”

What advice would you give the other Mengo girls?

“Be patient, very, very patient. Think about the future.”