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| INTRODUCTION
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| Africare, a
small NI based Christian charity, has been working in Uganda for
many years now, firstly with the Besaniya Children’s Home.
While helping Ugandan hospitals with medical equipment, we saw
the huge problems faced by disabled children in a culture where
disability may be regarded as a curse, a child may be hidden
away or even killed, or terrible suffering caused by the efforts
of the witchdoctors or traditional healers. This led to us
starting ‘Cherub’ at the Besaniya Children’s
Home, a work which quickly gained an enviable reputation, with
children brought from all over Uganda and beyond. We had access
to excellent surgical services through partner organisations,
and a wide range of orthopaedic and plastic surgery cases were
dealt with. This was life changing for the children and their
families. |
| The work
outgrew Cherub, and we faced a number of problems there. In
February 2009 all the staff moved out to rented premises at
Kalagi, and quickly got work under way there. However,
conditions were cramped, so recognising the potential of the
work we bought five acres of land at Kabembe and built a
completely new unit there in a very short time, initially with
20 inpatient beds, now extended to 32. All staff live on site,
and the aim is to create a family atmosphere where people of all
backgrounds feel welcome. The atmosphere at Acheru is testament
to the success of this aim. Children and relatives who were
previously ostracised suddenly find that they belong. But there
are so many more children we want to reach, and we now place a
lot of emphasis on working in northern Uganda, where there has
been such deprivation. We presently visit the area to run
clinics, but hope the next step will be to place workers there. |
| Since starting
Cherub in 2001, thousands of children have been treated. The
conditions we have seen are such that it is hard to imagine the
suffering endured by the children. What we need to focus on now
is the child we haven’t found yet. Condemned to a life of
pain and suffering, crawling around in the dirt, while we have
the capacity to transform their lives. Please help us to reach
more of these children. |
| You can find
out more from the two books written by Africare director Brian
Dorman. |
| 'The Tree, the
Boat and the Broken Leg' tells the story of Africare’s work
in Uganda, and the establishment of Cherub. |
| 'The Road to
Kabembe' tells of how circumstances changed and, after all
options were explored, the work was renamed ‘Acheru’,
and a new, completely independent, unit was built at Kabembe. |
These books are
available from Africare at £10.00 each including UK
postage.
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