Hi! 

Quick introduction,

My name is Wies Nijs, 20 years old and on 1 December 2016, I went on a six-month adventure in Uganda. 

I worked on 3 different projects, namely:

Agape babies home; a shelter for abandoned babies/children up to the ages of approximately 8 years old.

Kampala school for the physically handicapped; differently-abled as they put it so nicely there!

Agape ministries; day programme for homeless children.

After this experience, I wrote a plan in collaboration with local people who have experience working with children who are developmentally disabled. You can find this plan under the “what is our goal?” button.

The people, the culture, the work, the children... it all makes me so happy and that enthusiasm is something I want to share with the people and children in this project. I will give everything it takes to make this plan happen because I know it’s needed! 

Senkayi Ronald is experienced in the area of living as a homeless child.

His story:

When I was 7 months old, my mother abandoned me. At that point, my father was already no longer in the picture. The only thing I know about him is that he passed away when I was 2 years old. My aunt found me in a shed and she took it upon herself to take care of me. In our culture, if you grow up with someone other than your own parents, then you are kind of their slave. If you do something that’s not allowed, you get hit. That’s the reality in which I and many others grew up. When I was 14, my aunt’s house burned down and I got the blame for it. She kicked me out of the house. From the time I was 14 until 17, I lived on the streets and tried to save money. I begged, washed cars, shovelled sand etc.. to save money for a BodaBoda (this is a scooter that you can transport people on to earn money). After 2 1/2 years, I had exactly enough money saved ($1000) to buy a BodaBoda. Soon I was able to rent a house and get off the streets. Later, I started a small safari company and it’s doing better and better! Partly due to my own experience of living on the streets, I would really like to do something back for this group of children. 2 years ago, I started to cook every now and then for them, and I am very grateful and happy that it’s going so well. It would be so wonderful if we were able to continue with this project!

I am thankful for everything that I’ve experienced, as it has made me the person I am today and brought me to this point in my life.

God bless you.