Well, our Home is open and we are already a third full, with eight beautiful babies in our care. Our last little one arrived a couple of days ago – he had been abandoned in a deserted garden and was very lucky to be found. Now he is safe in our care and we are already on a mission to find him a family, so a happy ending indeed.
Our baby abandonment project is all about providing a solution to this widespread problem. In Uganda, poverty, rape and family rejection often lead to vulnerable women becoming pregnant. Unsupported, these girls must choose between abandoning their baby or keeping them in the knowledge that, with no food or shelter, they could die. We want to give them the choice to keep their babies, give them the skills to be great mums and the means to earn enough money to look after their babies.
I’m very proud, then, to introduce Dorthe Bucknell – a VSO volunteer, she is out here for six months setting up our mother and baby residential home and drop-in centre. The aim of the facility is to equip mothers with the skills they need to look after their children. After years of senior management at Kent Social Services, Dorthe applied to the VSO to share her expertise and make a huge difference. We are tremendously lucky to have her and the VSO involved in our project.
Meet Dorthe
When I asked Dorthe what she liked about the project, her eyes lit up. She told me: “I love being involved in the set up of a project, right from Day One. This is a great opportunity to work with local organisations and Mulago Hospital to share skills and knowledge. By working together, we can make a huge impact in an area where there is currently no service provision for young, vulnerable mothers” I love the VSO for giving us such an amazing project leader – I am personally learning a lot.
So, we now have a building and as well as being a great manager, Dorthe is also pretty good in front of the camera! In this video, she gives you a tour around our new building. By the end of the month, we should be ready to go. Very exciting times ahead…
