On 11th May, when we visited Kivulu slum community, on seeing me, maama Angel forged a wry smile out of courtesy! It was all written in her smile even before she spoke to me about her situation.
Hunger, anger, misery, hopelessness was all one could see at first glance. Her usually happy bright smile was now something of the past. Her face was pale, her lips were dry, and these were new identities she had seemed to embrace.
She had sent off her daughter to live with her brother so as to cut down on the feeding expense. So now, the responsibility she had remaining was to feed her, which too had failed her. She, however, had not yet given up on herself. When I got to her home, she had managed to catch grasshoppers in the wee hours of the morning. These fall during the rainy seasons, and it had been raining lately.
Good to see you again, she started! We have been praying for a miracle. We have run out of food and yet, we are not allowed to go out of the communities to work. I am hoping that these grasshoppers can take me a little longer, she continued!
As she accounted her situation, we were joined by her neighbor, Juliet, who too is a member of the women group that Joy for Children Uganda supports in the slum communities. Juliet is a mother of 4 children who she stays with in her one-roomed rental. How she felt on the inside was visible on the outside. Her usually glowing dark skin was a shade of dark ash grey. She was pale. She had not had a meal since the beginning of the day, but she too hoped the grasshoppers would come in handy for a meal for her family at the end of the day.
There were so many other families whose plight was just like that of Juliet and maama Angel. Families had run out of food and had nothing to feed themselves. Against this background, JFC-U launched a fundraiser campaign with a target of feeding 400 beneficiaries in 4 slum communities that the project supports. Each of these beneficiaries was intended to receive 25 kgs of maize flour and 10kgs of beans.
By 27th May, 2 of the 4 targeted slum communities were fully covered. Half of the numbers of beneficiaries in the 3rd community have as well been reached with food supplies. To date, more donations are still flickering, and these will cover the remaining community, and also perch up for the community where only half of the targeted beneficiaries were reached.
This is hope, this is an answered prayer for all the ladies that relentlessly prayed with faith, and this is a success story. Together, with the people who have contributed and still continue to contribute to this cause, we have helped many in need. May God bless all the work of your hands. For you, many in the slum communities are smiling, and they will be smiling for a long time!
