Well-wishers renovate buildings at Lira Babies Home

The buildings at Lira Babies Home have been renovated thanks to the generous contributions of well-wishers. The home provides care for vulnerable babies. Established in 1962, the orphanage also extends support to an additional 37 abandoned children living in communities across northern Uganda. 

These children include those abandoned in pit-latrines, bushes, or unfinished buildings. Others are orphans who lost their mothers at birth, those displaced by domestic violence, and children whose mothers face mental health challenges.

According to Sr Frances Demmy, the officer-in-charge of Lira Babies Home, the dormitories for the babies had begun leaking.

“When we called the engineers, they informed us that the houses should not to be used since it could collapse on the children. But since we did not have any alternative, we continued to use the structures like that,” she said in an interview on January 13. Sr Demmy said a fundraising drive for the renovation of the structures was started on December 23, 2023 and more than Shs192m was raised. 
“Out of what we realised during the fundraising drive, we started renovating the kitchen and later renovated the main structure that houses the babies. Uganda Technical College, Lira offered us manpower and the funds that we would have used to pay for manpower was used for buying raw materials. So, the renovation went on well,” she said. 
“Other well-wishers also supported us with food, water and firewood. The government and church leaders, school administrators, and business community supported us in raising funds for the renovation. Thanks to them all,” she added. 

The facility is, however, still grappling with the challenges of water scarcity due to inadequate resources. Sr Demmy said they need Shs1 million to install a water tank procured for them by a well-wisher.

“We were connected to the piped water grid by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation but they cut us off since we could not foot the huge bills which had accumulated. Some well-wisher also constructed for us a borehole and bought us a tank, but the water sensor does not operate,” she said. 

“Once the borehole is pumped, the water that it produces is so little that it cannot sustain us. We have been using rain water. 
Unfortunately, there is no water during the dry season. We appeal to the well-wishers out there to donate to us six water tanks so that we can address the challenge of water scarcity.” The Pakistani Association in Lira has donated food and non-food items to support the vulnerable children at the centre. 

Items such as rice, sugar, milk, posho, cooking oil, salt, among others were handed over to Lira Babies home on Friday last week. Mr Sadar Atiq Nawaz, the president of the Pakistani Association in Lira, said the donation is part of the association’s annual contribution towards supporting the vulnerable children.