Not too young to help

 

Paul Kirungi is a force to be reckoned with. At only 24, Kirungi is the director and founder of Lwazi community centre in Mizigo village, Mityana district.

 

Lwazi Community Centre takes care of children who have lost their Parents to HIV/AIDS, youth living with HIV/AIDS, and abandoned children.

 

Unlike other youth of his age, Kirungi become a beckon of hope to many children orphaned by HIV in Mizigo after living among them.

 

The suffering and stigma these children experience forced Kirungi to start up a centre, where they could gather and turn their sorrow into joy, something he says has made a difference into the lives of the less fortunate.

 

How he started

Immediately after his secondary education (S6) in 2006, Kirungi left his parents’ home and rented a one-roomed house, which became his new home. In his room, he had two mattresses but used only one. This got him thinking about the children sleeping on the streets without any beddings.

 

“I asked myself why I need two mattresses yet there are children sleeping on the streets on the ground,” Kirungi stated. This was the beginning of his desire to start a home for disadvantage children.

 

He sold some of his household items to raise money and rented a four-roomed house.

 

“After getting the house, I took my other mattress to the house for the children to sleep on. I had no bed to put the mattress on, so I had to lay it on the ground and that is where the children slept,” Kirungi said.

 

He started with five children and they would all sleep on the one mattress, with one bedsheet which acted as a blanket.

 

After accommodation was sorted out, Kirungi then worried about food. He got the help of his family especially his mother, who made sure the children never went hungry. He also got help from his friends, who would buy clothes for the children to wear.

 

Kirungi does not only take care of the children in terms of feeding and dressing, he has also supported their education by making sure they attend school. He has supported them by taking them to nearby schools in the community while others are in boarding schools. He said most of the children have now reached S4.

 

Kirungi explains that growing up in an extended family meant there was little money to buy necessities.

 

“Victims of HIV/AIDS need extra care. Some children miss out on their medication because they are not told why they should take it on a daily basis. Many parents fear to tell their children they are HIV positive. This keeps the children wondering why they should take drugs on a daily basis, even when they are not unwell”.

 

He says the centre, counsels the children which takes their minds off their status.

 

The centre which started with fi ve children aged between two and 18 years now has over 60 children under Kirungi’s care, with assistance from well-wishers and friends.

 

Kirungi says his biggest challenge is money to feed, educate and buy clothing for the children.

 

He said he uses his salary to maintain the centre, which he says is not enough to cater for the growing needs of the children under his care. Kirungi is a journalist working with a radio station.

 

“There was a time when I was out of employment. I felt like closing down the centre because I had no source of income to run it.

 

But when I thought of what would happen to the children, I decided not to,” he says.

 

As a way of fi nding steady income to maintain the centre, he got some money and started a piggery project. Unfortunately, all the pigs he had bought died. He then opened up a crafts centre where the children are trained to make crafts such as handbags, table mats and hats among other crafts that are sold to get money for their upkeep.

 

Challenges

Kirungi’s main challenge is food, rent and school fees for the orphans. He says he lacks land where he can grow food to feed the children and also put up a big house for the children to live in.

 

The current house is not enough to house the growing number of children and the mothers (Jjajas) who take care of them. Kirungi appeals for help from the Government and all wellwishers.