A calling to mother the abandoned

A visit to Ibanda Babies Home evokes sympathy for the abandoned babies and irritation towards their parents and guardians who throw them away. Toddlers, 33 in number, ranging from a few days old to four years are taken care of here by 13 helpers led by Sister Cotilda Nakiwala.

Sr Nakiwala says she is proud of dedicating her life to giving hope and care to abandoned babies. Her love for these babies is witnessed as she enters their abode and she is mobbed and welcomed with cries of mummy, mummy, mummy.

“At first it was so challenging and I was very much disturbed seeing the state of these babies who were being brought in. But I committed myself to restoring hope and giving love to these unfortunate babies. I can assure you I am one of the happiest people for the hundreds of babies I have given love, care and hope,” she says.

Having been born, cared for and loved by her parents inspired Sr Nakiwala to take on abandoned babies and share the same love she received from her parents.

Brought up in a family where she was loved alot by her parents, she imagined the difficult life of these babies who do not receive this kind of love. “Babies who do not receive love from their parents at tender age have their future affected and some become wild. I was determined to pick up these babies and offer them the same love my parents gave me,” she says.

Sr Nakiwala adds that as a nun, this is the best she can do to show love and the gift she can share with these abandoned babies. She says that abandoning babies partly originates from the very mothers not getting love from their parents at a tender age.

“Most of these mothers that abandon their children had no love from their parents at tender age, you find most of these mothers were raised under families characterised by domestic violence and grew up without any love and thus see it easier to abandon babies they produce,” she says.

Her service is not without challenges though. The Babies home is financially constrained, depending only on wellwishers and Mbarara Archdiocese.
“We have to feed, clothe and offer medical care for these babies but unfortunately, there is little funding for this which affects our operations. We also need more mothers as helpers in this cause, but we cannot manage it without adequate funding,” she says.

She longs to see more well-wishers come in to lend a hand in seeing these unfortunate babies get hope. Challenges notwithstanding, Sr Nakiwala remains committed to the calling.

“I feel happy and excited having seen over 100 babies grow happy from zero age to four years in my hands. Some of these are brought when they are very miserable, but after one month under our care their condition greatly improves,” she says. The seven years she has looked after the babies have taught her how to be merciful, tolerant and more loving.

What haunts her most is seeing the babies that have been brought up nicely in the home go out and face miserable life when they leave. When they clock four years, some are adopted, others are taken by NGOs like Suubi and Biira Children Villages and the rest by their relatives. Sr Nakiwala says those taken by relatives and those with single parents tend to have difficulties when they leave.

“I still get disturbed about the fate of these babies that grown under love and proper care here. When they are no longer in our hands especially those taken by single parents they suffer because these single parents marry other women who torment the children,” she adds almost shading tears.

Despite her and colleagues’ commendable efforts no one, even those that get their children after, has ever come to say thank you.

Sr Nakiwara calls on mothers of this country to have love their children. But also urges husbands to love them just as much as lack of love at a tender age affects them psychologically and can ruin their future. She also urges mothers to spearhead the fight against sexual abuse saying it is also responsible for child abandoning.

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