Pakistanis donate to Lira babies home

Pakistan nationals in Lira Town have donated food and non-food items to support vulnerable children at a foster care centre.
Items such as sugar, milk, secondhand clothes, cooking oil, soaps, balls and millet flour, were handed to Lira Babies Home in Ngeta Sub-county last week.
Mr Sardar Muhammad Atiq Nawaz, the president of the Pakistani Association in Lira, said the donation is part of the association’s annual contribution towards supporting vulnerable children.
Sr Frances Demmy of Lira Babies Home commended the move and blamed the increasing number of children in foster care system on domestic violence and teenage pregnancies.
Currently, there are 56 children at the Lira foster care facility.
According to American Bar Association, children entering the foster care system are a highly vulnerable population who suffer from high rates of chronic health conditions, including malnutrition and other food-related problems.
The study shows that about 20 per cent of children in foster care are of short stature, a possible sign of malnourishment due to neglect, with an additional 6 per cent to 10 per cent of infants and toddlers meeting criteria for failure to thrive.
“On the other extreme, about 15 per cent of children in foster care meet criteria for obesity, and data indicates that this figure is continuing to rise,” the organisation said.
Pakistan Association Lira has been supporting the vulnerable population in Lango Sub-region.
The association contributed food and non-food items worth Shs3m towards the burial expenses for the Kole pupil who was allegedly killed by two Indian nationals on November 9, 2018.
They contributed maize flour, beans, sugar, meat, water, salt, soap, cassava, onion and cooking oil.
“All these items were contributed by the well-wishers of Pakistani Community and members of Pakistan Association as a token of condolence for the deceased boy Dickens Okello,” Mr Ahmad Zafar, the Pakistan Association’s general secretary, said.
Mr Muhammad Sardar Nawaz, the president of Pakistan Association, reassured the people of Lango that their members will continue working together with the natives to see that there is harmonious co-existence and development.