Making a difference in the life of a girl child

If you are in Matugga Trading Centre in Wakiso District, you will hardly miss out on the name Samali Lwasa Nabwami, best known as Jajja Mukyala, who, some prefer calling Jajja baby. At 75, Nabwami is one of the women in Uganda sacrificing their happiness to support the girl child, especially those in Ssanga, Matugga.
Nabwami looks after a number of children both girls and boys. Some stay with her in her homestead, and she extends a helping hand to those that are not homeless. The idea of caring for the needy though, was originally not hers, but her daughter’s, who had vowed to care for the girl child during the painful cancer struggle she was going through at the time.
“I do this to fulfill my daughter’s dream and promise she made to God during the time she battled with cancer,” Nambwami explains.

Her journey
In April 1991, while in the United Kingdom, Josephine Kyambadde, Nambwami’s first born who is now 53, was diagnosed with hodgkin lymphoma cancer. Kyambadde was admitted to Royal free hospital, where she stated receiving chemotherapy.
During chemotherapy, her three children of six months, one and two years, were taken care of by someone she least expected to help since she was neither her close friend nor her relative. This triggered her philanthropy spirit and she particularly wanted to take care of children who were needy. “In 1995, I was declared cancer free, but the fact that I was staying in the United Kingdom, I first worked with some churches in Uganda to help me execute the promise I had made to God,” Kyambadde recollects.
Her journey of supporting the girl child started in 2000. She would send items such as clothes, computers and other basic necessities to the churches, but later realised that the items she used to send were either being sold or used by people who were not needy.
Teaming up with her mother and a group of friends- Balanced Life Family, Kyambadde started to look out for the least priviledged girl children in Ssanga, Matugga, her home area. Before extending help, Nabwami, in the absence of her daughter, carries out research and adheres to legal requirements. Kyambadde’s aim is to educate, instill cultural norms, promote skills and provide a home to the homeless.

Instilling cultural values
“With the help of my mother, we instill in these girls cultural values such as dress code and we teach them how to relate with one another. Much as these girls need education, they also need to appreciate culture. In this cause, my mother gathers girls from different areas around the village during the holidays and teaches them how to cook, peel and wash their clothes among other life skills.

Vocational skills
Where academics fail, Nabwami and Kyambadde go back to the local leaders and the police for a change of strategy. Asking the children what they would like to venture into, they take them to vocational institutions to fulfill their dreams.
“One of the girls repeated Primary seven twice, when she finally got to Senior One, she said she would not understand what the teachers were teaching and that the subjects were too many for her. Today, she is learning hair dressing and catering. This is what she says she wanted to pursue in life,” says Kyambadde.

Monitoring friendships
Monitoring the kind of people these girls associate themselves with is key to raising a responsible child. “With more than 10 girls staying in my home, monitoring them is part of my daily job. They are required to inform me of their whereabouts and before they go to visit their friends, I ensure that their friends come home first. I know their parents and I always keep in touch,” Nabwami says.

Education
Irene Mbabazi is yet another inspirational woman who is investing in the girl child. Mbabazi first worked with World Vision, an international NGO, and while there, she learnt how deal with different people in society. Working in Bundibujjo District, Mbabazi says she realised how girls in this community were shy and could not stand up to read a story book to the rest of the class.
In 2017, Mbabazi bought story books that she distributed to different schools as a way of promoting the reading culture.
“By 2017, I had about 20 story books which I distributed to Kyebando Primary school and children were very happy,” she adds. Mbabazi operates in Kyebando, Bwaise and Kawempe. By promoting the reading culture (which she calls the moving library), Mbabazi spends two hours in a week with children in a given school. She speaks to girls between the age of 11 and 16 about menstruation and provides them with sanitary pads.

Female circumcision
Annette Chemutai, a life coach, aims at fighting stigma about menstruation and creates awareness among girls in Mogoyo Village, Kapchorwa, District her home area. Growing up in Kenya, the mother of three was supported by people to survive.
“While in Kenya, my mother was diagnosed with esophagus cancer. I remember going out to wash people’s clothes to raise money for my basic needs. It was tough,” she recalls.
Chemutai says when her mother died, she decided to step into her mother’s footsteps. Today, she is working hard to break the negative perceptions of menstruation in her community. She thinks creating more awareness about it may lessen the stigma.
“I stay in Gayaza, in Wakiso District but when I get a chance, I travel to Mogoyo once a month with some people to help me speak to the different groups of girls about issues concerning them,” says Chemutai
She says at times the girls need someone they can share their problems with and talk freely. She says without someone to talk to, many girls are left vulnerable. “Much as the government is fighting female genital mutilation, last year, people practiced it. The girls are exposed to harmful traditional practices which damage their sexual and reproductive organs. I tell them I am one of them, but I was not circumcised and I am woman enough,”
Chemutai has a dream to see an enthusiastic community that celebrates culture without violating human rights, a community where the plight of the girl child is everyone’s responsibility.

Beneficiaries
Cissy Nakaizi, 15
“I was brought to stay with jajja mukyala by my mother. I remember I was in Primary Two. My mother and I were staying in Buikwe, but my mother could not afford school fees. Jjajja and mummy Josephine offered to look after me and pay my school fees. However, my performance was poor, I did not understand what the teachers were teaching and my classmates kept making fun of me. This made me hate school. When I talked to Jajja, she suggested I pursue a course in hair dressing and catering. This is what I am currently doing.”

Sarah Nakimbugwe
“I have seen Dr Kyambadde and Jajja mukyala transform our community. These two are heaven-sent. They mentor and groom the girl child in all aspects of life. Today, the Balanced Life Family is taking care of all my children. However, they are not only targeting the girl child, but women as well. I have been trained and given startup capital to start a small business.

Caution
Samali Lwasa Nabwami is concerened that while many initiatives and parents care have invested resources to uplift the plight of the girl child, there are seemingly no equal efforts geared towards nurturing and grooming the boy child. At the end of the day, these are the men that end up being husbands. She appeals to parents and non-governmental organisations to accord the same attention to boys.