The New Vision

Being jobless has not kept Kirabo from looking after needy kids

Publication date: Sunday, 13th July, 2008

Kirabo ( in pink) with some of the children she looks after

By Carol Kezaabu

WAITING by the roadside where the taxi had dropped me moments earlier, I wonder what the lady with the fiercely passionate voice on the phone looks like. She had told me to wait for her to pick me up.

Suddenly, I see a small lady in pink and white, waving at me from a distance. She leads the way to her home, a few metres away. We go through a gate into an expansive compound and big bungalow, which she says is her father’s. At 45, Dorothy Kirabo still lives with her father and her life revolves around the needy children in her small neighbourhood of Makayi Zone, Namirembe.

Kirabo says she has always been passionate about children. Her involvement with them started in 1998. Born in a family of 14 children, she says this is probably why she enjoys having several people around her. She attended Old Kampala Secondary School and the National Teacher’s College Kyambogo. In 1991, Kirabo did a diploma course in theological studies in the US.

“When the pastor at my church encouraged us to go out to the community and open up our homes and hearts, I was immediately drawn to the plight of children in my community,” she says.

When Kirabo reached out to her community, she realised the neighbourhood was not safe for children. Most of them were living in single-parent homes and their mothers could not afford to care for them. Others were missing school, were engaged in rebellion, alcoholism, idleness, drug abuse and sexual promiscuity.

Kirabo started a fellowship in her home which has become a safe haven for many children and mothers in the area. “I decided to take on a few children and pay their fees because I know that education is the key to freedom,” she says. “Most of these children are not orphans but they become ‘orphans’ right in front of their parents’ eyes.”

Kirabo does not have a job; she takes care of her father’s estates and her sister’s rental properties but the little she has allows her to pay school fees for six children in primary school and one in senior two. The children live with their parents, but having them in school gives the mothers time to work and cater for their other needs. Her home is open to another 30 or so children and mothers who come to her for counselling, clothes, food and a sense of belonging.

In 2004, Kirabo adopted one of the boys whose parents could not afford to care for him. Godfrey came from Mityana. His parents had sent him to Sembule to work for a relative. He was there for about three years before he came to Kampala to work as a child-minder at only 11 years. He used to attend fellowship at Kirabo’s home and she noticed he was intelligent and could have a brilliant future given the opportunity.

Kirabo talked to his parents who gave their blessing for her to adopt him. He has been living with her for the last three years. She changed his last name from “Kaitale” to “Muwanguzi”, a testimony of his triumph over countless obstacles. At 15, Muwanguzi is in primary six at Step-by-Step Primary School and doing well. He says the most important thing in his life is being able to attend school again.

Kirabo has big plans for her community. She recently completed a certificate course in nursery teaching at the Young Women’s Christian Association and is constructing a two-room structure adjacent to her home, in which she hopes to hold pre-primary classes. She registered her foundation in 2005 as the Charity Children Ministry. She now receives assistance from her sister who lives abroad and a few local volunteers, although that is still not enough to help her achieve her dream.

Kirabo wants to build a full-fledged school to help more children. She inherited a 40-acre piece of land in Singo on Hoima road on which she plans to build a primary and vocational school to give the children income-generation skills.

Even as she waits to achieve her long term goals, Kirabo’s work has already had an impact on her community. Annet Nassazi, a member of her church, says Kirabo has greatly blessed their community. Her home is always open and people feel safe and welcome. The children engage in music, dance, reading, Bible study, drama and visiting the elderly in the community.

George Ssebbowa, the treasurer of the children’s ministry, says he was attracted by Kirabo’s passion for the children. She gives hope to children who are going to be tomorrow’s leaders, he says.

Kirabo believes people with the means should meet the need of their communities. “It is time for people to rise up and open their hearts to others. A miracle happens when we care,” she says with a smile.