All patriots should salute Athieno
Dec 10, 2009
EDITOR—I read with dismay and disgust The New Vision story, “Illegal orphanage closed, owner arrested†published on Wednesday. Children are an essential part of the future generation, they are vulnerable and need tender care.
EDITOR—I read with dismay and disgust The New Vision story, “Illegal orphanage closed, owner arrested†published on Wednesday. Children are an essential part of the future generation, they are vulnerable and need tender care.
The Government has not set aside funds or programmes to cater for orphaned children who actually did not chose to be what they are. It may be true that Florence Athieno did not have a licence permitting her run the orphanage.
However, considering the degree of the helplessness of the children under her care, the Ministry of Gender and Labour should have been humane and prudent to do things in a better way that does not harm the children and break down Athieno. There are so many pathetic and lamentable situations where the Government would have acted with empathy.
The ministry should have encouraged Athieno’s initiative instead of arresting her and closing the orphanage. I don’t see the wisdom in the ministry’s action.
There are many Ugandans wallowing in riches who hardly ever sympathise with the needy. I was in Uganda in August when a squad of Police officers rounded up Karimojong children, bundled them on a lorry and returned them to Karamoja, the miserable place they had escaped from. Have the responsible authorities asked themselves why those children ran away from Karamoja? I have also read that children in certain places have been rounded up and arrested because they were ‘idle’!
Did someone give them a job and they refused to take it? Why can’t the authorities establish causes first and try to find a remedy? Athieno is a patriot and all patriotic Ugandans should salute her and fight to have her set free to continue with her business. Uganda needs many Mamma Athienos.
There is enormous enthusiasm in the rich nations to help the needy in Africa, but they want African leadership to show an interest as well. The Ministry of Gender and Labour should be ashamed.
Prof Erasmus Otabbong
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
EDITOR—I wish to comment on your story about Florence Athieno who was arrested and had her orphanage closed. We should accept that despite her lack of approval from the gender ministry, she has a big heart. She is in the process of regularising the centre which she has run for 15 years and therefore should not have been arrested.
The Police should have checked to ensure that indeed she is working on regularising the orhanage and maybe give her a time limit.
I was amazed that she fends for the children using her meagre resources from her tailoring business. Why did Police have to wait for 15years to take the children from her to Naguru reception centre?
The Police and gender ministry should cooperate with Athieno. Liase with her and Naguru such that when she gets children ready to go back to their homes, Naguru which I assume has a resettlement programme, can come and pick them and resettle them. She can also ensure that her orphanage becomes transitional and not permanent for children who may easily be taken back to their families since she can only accommodate a small number.
Josephine K. Tusingwire jktusingwire@yahoo.com
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EDITOR—I was greatly saddened to read about how Florence Athieno, the woman who looks after orphaned children in Nansana, has been paid by the Ministry of Gender and Labour and our Police. Shame, shame upon you and shame upon us Ugandans, a society that calls on women to give birth like rabbits and when the children are orphaned they live worse than pigs! In a country where you cannot find decent homes and social services for orphaned children, the best Police and the ministry could do was to shoot the shepherd and scatter the sheep!
Did these so-called child protection experts stop to think what impact the arrest of this foster mother would have on the abandoned and former ‘street children’? Can a street child live in a home where they are mistreated?
Their first option would be to return to the street. If they have been living peacefully with Athieno, she must be doing something right. In what state is the Naguru remand home where the children have been taken? Is it better than Athieno’s home? Shame on the ministry!
Instead of facilitating this good-hearted woman, they whistle- blow to the Police and whisk her from her home like a criminal! What lesson are the ministry and Police sending out to all those people out there who are looking after orphans and vulnerable children? The legal procedures for adoption are so bureaucratic.
That may have its merits but the ministry and Police should provide guidance and support for people like Athieno rather than harrass them. My plea is that they should release Athieno immediately, provide counsel, training, process the paperwork for her immediately to resume the good job she has been doing. The Ministry of Gender should also do its work of inspection of all these homes.
They should have arrested themselves first. If they had been doing their work, they would have found Athieno a long time ago and many others who in fact may be dubious and will never walk to the ministry to get paperwork for their homes. Shame, shame upon us all.
Liza Kizza
Kampala
The Government has not set aside funds or programmes to cater for orphaned children who actually did not chose to be what they are. It may be true that Florence Athieno did not have a licence permitting her run the orphanage.
However, considering the degree of the helplessness of the children under her care, the Ministry of Gender and Labour should have been humane and prudent to do things in a better way that does not harm the children and break down Athieno. There are so many pathetic and lamentable situations where the Government would have acted with empathy.
The ministry should have encouraged Athieno’s initiative instead of arresting her and closing the orphanage. I don’t see the wisdom in the ministry’s action.
There are many Ugandans wallowing in riches who hardly ever sympathise with the needy. I was in Uganda in August when a squad of Police officers rounded up Karimojong children, bundled them on a lorry and returned them to Karamoja, the miserable place they had escaped from. Have the responsible authorities asked themselves why those children ran away from Karamoja? I have also read that children in certain places have been rounded up and arrested because they were ‘idle’!
Did someone give them a job and they refused to take it? Why can’t the authorities establish causes first and try to find a remedy? Athieno is a patriot and all patriotic Ugandans should salute her and fight to have her set free to continue with her business. Uganda needs many Mamma Athienos.
There is enormous enthusiasm in the rich nations to help the needy in Africa, but they want African leadership to show an interest as well. The Ministry of Gender and Labour should be ashamed.
Prof Erasmus Otabbong
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
EDITOR—I wish to comment on your story about Florence Athieno who was arrested and had her orphanage closed. We should accept that despite her lack of approval from the gender ministry, she has a big heart. She is in the process of regularising the centre which she has run for 15 years and therefore should not have been arrested.
The Police should have checked to ensure that indeed she is working on regularising the orhanage and maybe give her a time limit.
I was amazed that she fends for the children using her meagre resources from her tailoring business. Why did Police have to wait for 15years to take the children from her to Naguru reception centre?
The Police and gender ministry should cooperate with Athieno. Liase with her and Naguru such that when she gets children ready to go back to their homes, Naguru which I assume has a resettlement programme, can come and pick them and resettle them. She can also ensure that her orphanage becomes transitional and not permanent for children who may easily be taken back to their families since she can only accommodate a small number.
Josephine K. Tusingwire jktusingwire@yahoo.com
--------------------------------
EDITOR—I was greatly saddened to read about how Florence Athieno, the woman who looks after orphaned children in Nansana, has been paid by the Ministry of Gender and Labour and our Police. Shame, shame upon you and shame upon us Ugandans, a society that calls on women to give birth like rabbits and when the children are orphaned they live worse than pigs! In a country where you cannot find decent homes and social services for orphaned children, the best Police and the ministry could do was to shoot the shepherd and scatter the sheep!
Did these so-called child protection experts stop to think what impact the arrest of this foster mother would have on the abandoned and former ‘street children’? Can a street child live in a home where they are mistreated?
Their first option would be to return to the street. If they have been living peacefully with Athieno, she must be doing something right. In what state is the Naguru remand home where the children have been taken? Is it better than Athieno’s home? Shame on the ministry!
Instead of facilitating this good-hearted woman, they whistle- blow to the Police and whisk her from her home like a criminal! What lesson are the ministry and Police sending out to all those people out there who are looking after orphans and vulnerable children? The legal procedures for adoption are so bureaucratic.
That may have its merits but the ministry and Police should provide guidance and support for people like Athieno rather than harrass them. My plea is that they should release Athieno immediately, provide counsel, training, process the paperwork for her immediately to resume the good job she has been doing. The Ministry of Gender should also do its work of inspection of all these homes.
They should have arrested themselves first. If they had been doing their work, they would have found Athieno a long time ago and many others who in fact may be dubious and will never walk to the ministry to get paperwork for their homes. Shame, shame upon us all.
Liza Kizza
Kampala