Sleeping on a real mattress . . . finally!

By Gladys Kalibbala

They had never slept on a real mattress before, and when they finally got the opportunity to do so, it was bliss.

The orphaned siblings – quadruplets – didn’t even bother to clear the dirt off their feet first. The brand new mattresses instantly turned into bouncing castles of-sorts for them. And what a delightful sight the excited kids made!

Well, before this, we had to make our way to their home – a good 185km from Kampala by road. Our driver had to steer the vehicle through thickets in the final kilometer before reaching our destination.
 

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The rickety path finally brought us to the home of George Rwakabishe in Kamuchope – Najjanankumbi village, Kyankwanzi district. Our vehicle hissed to a stop inside the compound of neat grass-thatched huts, attracting the attention of the people there.

Onboard, we had mattresses, blankets, bed-sheets and towels which we excitedly offloaded as the children, sensing this should be for them, eagerly drew closer to the car.
 

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They had never experienced the comfort of having shuteye on a real mattress. Theirs had always been a sack filled with grass which they shared plus one light blanket.

No wonder excitement got the better of them that they unwrapped one of the mattresses on the compound and gleefully jumped up and down on it.

Still out there in the compound, under daylight, the siblings did a mock scenario of night time – they spread out the sheets and tucked themselves and pretended to be sleeping – much to the amusement of everyone – while thanking those who had brought such joy to them.

This was the work of two ‘good Samaritans’: Kampala businessmen Lawrence Lugwana and Paul Kawooya. This was after they had read the story of the death of the mother of these children in 2010.
 

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From left, good Samaritans Paul Kawooya (blue shirt) and Lawrence Lugwana (extreme right) pose for a photo with the quadruplets of Kyankwanzi and their father George Rwakabishe. (Credit: Gladys Kalibbala)

Flashback

In 2009, Rwakabishe married a beautiful girl Scovia Kateteyi, who went on to give birth to quadruplets the following year.

They are: Melon Kansiime, Anthony Ninsiima, Justine Kamusiime and Winnie Nsimenta.

Unfortunately, she failed to give a normal birth and so was operated on in a private hospital around Kampala. She was too weak and was on was put on oxygen support until she stabilized after a few days.

Later, she was discharged and taken back home in Kyankwanzi where she spent only one night before breathing her last.

No post-mortem examination was carried out and so the cause of her death was unclear. However, members of her family explained that she had complained of a headache shortly before collapsing – dead.

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George Rwakabishe and his four children in good spirits. (Credit: Gladys Kalibbala)

After his wife’s death, Rwakabishe explained, it was a nightmare as he had used most of his savings to clear hospital bills in Kampala where she was admitted for about a month before she her due delivery date.

He thanked New Vision for publishing his story more than once which has made it possible for readers to give him support. Readers came up to assist Rwakabishe and his family whenever his stories were published.

He particularly thanked Rhoda Kalema (former MP for Kiboga), who worked tirelessly in providing the babies with milk, sugar, clothes and also taking them to hospital.

“Kalema talked to doctors at Kiboga hospital and they helped us with their frequent treatment. She would send us her vehicle to transport them for treatment,” he said. He also thanked Evelyn Karungi and ‘Warrior Women’, among others.

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