Carol cancer drive raises Shs32m

Kampala. A total of Shs32.2m has so far been collected in a campaign meant to help Ms Carol Atuhirwe, a Uganda Christian University student suffering from throat and lung cancer, get treatment abroad.
According to Justine Nyachwo, one of her friends involved in the media campaign titled, ‘Cancer relief fundraiser for Carol Atuhirwe’, they still need to collect a balance of Shs247.8m.
“Hi everyone, thank you for your care and love for Carol.

However, we’re running out of time, the surgery is supposed to take place this month. Carol has received total donations of about $10,000 (about Shs32, 650,000). Let’s try our best to contact these men and women with power and the funds to save our friend-Together we can. ‪#‎SaveCarol #FightCancer. Thank you and be blessed,” Ms Nyachwo wrote on Carol’s Facebook page.
The money was raised through donations and various activities, including a car wash. She explained that Ms Atuhirwe still feels a lot of pain and barely sleeps.
Ms Atuhirwe needs a total of $80,000 (about Shs264.8) for her treatment abroad.

How it all began
On her blog, carosblogonline.wordpress.com, Ms Atuhirwe writes her journey as a cancer patient. She writes that she stopped speaking long before she got to know she had throat cancer, but never took anything serious until it was a little late.
“It was in the year 2011; I was just in my Second Year, last semester at campus when I started coughing small amounts of blood. I didn’t take things seriously until Third Year when I started losing my voice. I thought it was like any other loss of voice.”

Carol cancer drive raises Shs32m

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Ms Carol Atuhirwe keeps a smile on her face even as she battles cancer at Mulago Cancer Institute. She needs Shs264.8m for specialised treatment abroad. Courtesy PHOTO. 

“So I started taking things that could clear my throat. It took long and I couldn’t answer any more questions in class, school became hard for me, fellow students laughed at me, sometimes talked behind my back; it was a horrible experience but wouldn’t allow all the two years to die for nothing so I hanged in there,” she wrote.When she went for a serious medical checkup with the help of a relative, that was when she found out she had cancer. After getting chemotherapy, radiotherapy and several surgeries for the throat cancer, Ms Atuhirwe said she was screened and doctors at Mulago hospital, where she had been staying for more than a year, found out she had lung cancer as well.

However, the throat cancer healed after the treatment.
After a year of chemotherapy for lung cancer without change, she said she had a surgery last year. According to the post on her blog, her oesophagus (gullet) broke down, the spine got exposed and the trachea moved down.
“I crave tasting food, drinking water, having a normal life like other people, maybe I get a job, then never to cover my neck to hide my pain; those will be my joy scars, my warrior scars, courageous. I wish all this ends. I stop sitting on my bed day-by-day, go out sometimes, visit my friends, take trips. Oh God! Make this last dream come true,” Ms Atuhirwe wrote.

Contribution
How to contribute. To contribute to Carol, send mobile money to 0784 768 178 or 0701 930 750.
Lung cancer. According to a study titled “Trends in the incidence of cancer in Kampala, Uganda 1991-2010”, there was a rise in the incidence of lung cancer among females. Likewise, cancers of the lungs remain relatively rare, although incidences are increasing in women.

jbirungi@ug.nationmedia.com #sofoafrica@gmail.com.

 

Malaria is preventable and curable, there were an estimated 214 million cases of malaria in 2015 and 438,000 deaths in 2015.

About 3.2 billion people – almost half of the world’s population – are at risk of malaria.

In 2015, Sub-Saharan Africa had 88% of malaria cases and 90% of malaria deaths.

In areas with high transmission of malaria, children under 5 are the most vulnerable. More than 70% of all malaria deaths occur in this age group.

There for we request you to join hands with us in preventing this in the 2016. We at SOFA are carrying out the camping against malaria. we want to have outreaches to the communities of Busoga in Uganda East Africa and if we get the funding we give out mosquito net to pregnant mothers and children below the age of 5 to at least reduce on the risk of catching the killer disease.

Make checks payable to "Save Our Families Africa"

BY BANK WIRE; -please address all gifts to

Bank Name: UNITED BANK OF AFRICA (UBA)

Branch: JINJA BRANCH

Account Name: SAVE OUR FAMILIES AFRICA

Account Number: 0664001443

Swift Code: UNAFUGKA

For inquiries, please contact us as noted below.

Use of other means like Pay pal, Western Union and Money Gram is also welcome for those who find it convenient.

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For inquiries, please contact us as noted below.

Office

Tel: +256 783 515 685 and +256 706515685

Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 6:00 pm East African Time

Contact Personnel

Mr.Okocha Kasolo Peter

Mr. Hussien Muyonjo

Our postal mail address is:

Basoga Baino 87.7 fm

P. O. Box 13 Jinja- UGANDA

Or you can contact us by e-mail to answer your questions or provide

further information.

sofoafrica@gmail.com

CHILD ABUSE HIGH.

Child abuse is more prevalent in boys than girls, a new study has revealed. 

By: Save Our Families Africa.

The report by the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect and Save Our Families Africa(SOFA) , by a child rights advocacy group, conducted in Busoga and other parts of Uganda districts showed that boys are more vulnerable (81.2 per cent) than girls (68.3 per cent).
“It was revealed that boys are more vulnerable to physical abuse because they are regarded as more stubborn and due the growing levels of poverty, yhe young lads are sent to work in sugar cane plantations since Busoga is know for the practice.

A One Moses Isabirye Found Fishing on one Landing Site in Mayuge Distict, to his parents school is a priority.

Also, boys are viewed as threats to mostly step mothers that fear that they are the heirs to the property,” Save Our Families Africa(SOFA) can revel .

With the exception of sexual abuse which the study observed as under reported, the research also discovered that girls are safer from abuse because of a culture that encourages them to be groomed in a self-protective manner.

“Girls remained more vulnerable to sexual abuse at 90percent and has been reported today in Tororo District where an man had turned his daughter into his second wife her mother. In addition, the vulnerability increased with increase in age of the girls. Also absurd, was that 90 per cent of the disabled and 80per cent orphaned children reported to ever being abused.

SOFA also noticed that the main perpetuators of child abuse are biological parents at 41 per cent. These were followed by neighbors at 19 per cent; siblings at 14 per cent step parents at 11per cent and teachers at 9.3 per cent. 
“This confirms that most child abuse cases are committed at home,” Mr Kasolo Alton Peter of SOFA has found out. 

The survey also highlighted that abuse is not reported until it becomes extreme. “We encourage everyone to take the responsibility of reporting abuse before it becomes too late.

We there for reach out to you to help in raising fund to curb the disease.

Child abuse higher among boys - new report

Child abuse is more prevalent in boys than girls, a new study has revealed.
The report by the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect and Save Our Families Africa(SOFA) , by a child rights advocacy group, conducted in Busoga and Kampala, wakiso districts showed that boys are more vulnerable (81.2 per cent) than girls (68.3 per cent).

“It was revealed that boys are more vulnerable to physical abuse because they are regarded as more stubborn. Also, boys are viewed as threats to mostly step mothers that fear that they are the heirs to the property,” said Save Our Families Africa(SOFA) and Mr Marlon Agaba, the senior programme officer Information and Policy Advocacy at ANPPCAN.

With the exception of sexual abuse which the study observed as under reported, the research also discovered that girls are safer from abuse because of a culture that encourages them to be groomed in a self-protective manner.

“Girls remained more vulnerable to sexual abuse at 90percent. In addition, the vulnerability increased with increase in age of the girls. Also absurd, was that 90 per cent of the disabled and 80per cent orphaned children reported to ever being abused. SOFA also noticed that the main perpetuators of child abuse are biological parents at 41 per cent. These were followed by neighbours at 19 per cent; siblings at 14 per cent step parents at 11per cent and teachers at 9.3 per cent.

“This confirms that most child abuse cases are committed at home,” Mr Kasolo Alton Peter of SOFA said.
The survey also highlighted that abuse is not reported until it becomes extreme. “We encourage everyone to take the responsibility of reporting abuse before it becomes too late.

Man deserts woman for bearing him five pairs of twins

Man deserts woman for bearing him five pairs of twins

Any woman will go to extra lengths to bear at least a child; others even sneak into hospitals and steal babies. But for Sumayiya Nakanwagi her joy has turned into a nightmare after her husband deserted her for bearing a record five sets of twins, saying it was a bad omen.


In 2002 I met my husband, Jamir Batte while I was doing business, buying matooke from Mbarara and selling it in Kampala, Busega and Nateete.

A short while after we met business was not going well for him so I had to take care of us. I bought him a bodaboda so he could earn some money.

In 2003 we agreed to have our first child and the following year I gave birth to twins; Wasswa and Nakato.

We were so excited and our love grew stronger by the day. In 2007 I gave birth again - to a set of twins, Wasswa and Kato.

In 2010 I again gave birth to another set; Wasswa and Nakato. However Nakato left us just as she was making two years.

In 2012 I gave birth to another set of twins; Wasswa and Kato, and so did I in 2014 when I bore Babirye and Kato, though the latter died during labour.

In 2012 though, when I was heavy with the fourth set of twins we started having misunderstandings with my husband who would take whatever little money I earned.

Sumayiya with the man who deserted her after the couple was blessed with five sets of twins

One time my mother fell ill so I travelled to Mbarara and sent a lorry of matooke to my husband to sell so I could get money to treat her.

However that was the last I heard of him. After selling the matooke, he packed all his belongings, sold all the plots of land I had and lied to me that thugs had broken into the home and taken everything.

However neighbours tipped me that he had packed everything and left.

When I demanded from him what he had taken he reacted like a wounded animal. He said the twins were a bad omen and therefore he could no longer stay with me. And that was the last I heard of him; he left me, broken, broke, and later homeless.

Strangely his relatives were in total support of him saying I was a cursed woman who only gave birth to twins, something they had never witnessed in their clan.

I would not have cared about him leaving, but the man stole everything I had; he left me penniless and with no capital to run business.

Strange illness...and the sixth set of twins

Following his departure I developed a strange illness and was told I had to see a traditional healer. I met a man, Charles Ssebusolo, who treated me. He told me that my husband had left me two months pregnant but the pregnancy would not develop because I had been bewitched.

He told me I had to sleep with a man if the pregnancy was to progess, and that he was the only one who would do it. In my desperate state, panic and confusion, I yielded and slept with him.

He however cautioned me that the pregnancy was for my husband and not his. Nine months after he 'treated' me I gave birth to another set of twins, Babirye and Kato. However Kato later died.

Things turned for the worse when Ssebusolo's elder children turned against me and hounded me out of the house he had given me to stay in, so I went back to a life of misery.

Family history

My maternal grandmother, Bitaminsi, also gave birth to a set of four twins. My mother, Babirye Nangoma, is also a twin though she never bore twins. I could have inherited my grandmother's genes therefore I have no regrets about it.

I tell my children apart my coding them for example Wasswa Mukulu, Wasswa Mutono, Wasswa Bbiri, Nakato Mukulu, and Kato Mukulu.

Challenges

Because I am now unemployed I survive by well-wishers who buy me food. I have always had issues with neighbours wherever I have rented. Landlords always complain that we fill up their latrines and always evict me from their premises. Currently I and my children use the public toilets in Wakaliga market.

The only property to my name now is an unfinished house and since I have no income I cannot do much about it. My elder children are in primary three but I have failed to send them back to school because of fees.

I order to protect my children I dress them in similar clothes for easy identification. A woman once tried to steal three of them but she was easily caught because residents recognised their 'uniform'.

Runaway husband tormenting me

Recently there have been instances where people have called using anonymous numbers, claiming they have been sent to bring money for upkeep.

I once went to meet one such person after he called but when I got to the meeting point there was no one and the phone had been switched off.

I suspect my husband is the one behind all this. He once tried to kill me by torching the house after stealing from me. I put all that behind me and moved on; all I want is to raise my children. I do not understand what he wants from me.

Child labour keeps two million out of school

At least two million children aged five to 17 are engaged in child labour, the first Child Labour report released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) reveals.

The report, unveiled recently at Statistics House in Kampala, reveals that the two million child labourers accounted for 16% of the entire children’s population of 11.5 million in Uganda.

According to the report, child labour is among the major causes of child abuse and exploitation. 

The report further faults child labour for slowing down broader national poverty reduction and development efforts. 

It also points to child labour as an obstacle to achieving universal primary education.

“Children who are forced out of school to help supplement their families’ incomes are denied the opportunity to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to aid them get decent employment in future. 

This ties them down in a cycle of poverty,” the report reads

The report defines child labour as work that is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful to children. 

It further includes work activities that interfere with children’s school attendance.

To that end, child labour is when children aged five to 11 years are engaged in work, while children aged from12 to 13 years work beyond 14 hours a week and when children aged between 14 and 17 years work at night or for more than 43 hours a week.

Of the child workers, 52.5% were males while 47.5 were female. 

The report further stated that one in every four working children (26%) carried heavy loads at their respective workplaces.

While presenting the report, Wilson Nyegenye, a principal statistician, at UBOS said children in the rural areas were engaged in child labour more than their urban compatriots.

“Most of the activities that employ child labour, such as agriculture, are in the rural areas,” Nyegenye said. About 42% of children in the rural areas were in employment, compared to the 17% in urban areas. 

At least 51% of the children in the central region and 40% in the western region were in employment indicating that the two regions had the highest level of child employment.

Addressing the media on the report, Andrew Mukulu, the director, population and social statistics said: “Overall, children with both parents dead were more involved in employment than their counterparts in other orphanhood statuses.”

Most of the child labour, Mukulu noted was employed in primary sector encompassing agriculture, forestry and fishing. 

This sector accounts for 93% of the child labour in Uganda.

A young boy cleans fishing net at a landing site like Masese

Kampala city emerged as the most notorious employer of child labour with 79% of city’s child workers engaged in the services industry.

Household chores, the study noted, also formed an integral part of the daily work of a Ugandan child with 65% of children engaged household chores.

However, girls were more likely to perform household chores than boys and more children in rural areas undertook household chores (66%) than their urban peers (58%).

According to Godfrey Nabonyo, the manager communications and public relations UBOS, the report is informed by the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2013, the first national survey of its kind in Uganda.