After hearing from Rev. Sr. Mary Peter Namasinga/Local Superior at the Kyasira Home of Hope for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children on the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe, Uganda, in October 2023 about a devastating flood in 2020 that left 62 children and their caregivers, stranded Bread and Water for Africa® Executive Director Beth Tessema knew she needed to take action.
“Water and flood swept all our orphanage facilities,” reported Sister Mary. “We are kindly requesting your funding agency to have mercy on us and help us to overcome this crisis by helping us financially through this crisis please.”
In addition to the flooding of the buildings on the compound still in need of repair four years later, perhaps even more devastating was the loss of Kyasira’s several acre banana plantation which provided sustenance to the children while also generating revenue for the home’s operations.
Today, thanks to the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa®, we were able to fund the redevelopment of the banana plantation involving the planting of 600 banana trees to replace those destroyed in the flooding and in a recent progress report Sister Mary said that the young plants are thriving and progressing very well.
“We expect to have big bananas by June.”
However, along with the banana farm, the flooding had knocked out the home’s solar power system which was in urgent need of repair and our supporters stepped up to make that happen.
“Before the solar repair, we had total darkness at night,” Sister Mary told us. “The children could not read books or do their homework… but now they can.
“We had also not been able to move at night because we were afraid of stepping on snakes or meeting bad people or animals that could hurt us, but now we can move freely because the home is very bright at night which makes it secure.”
She also noted that before the repair they were unable to work on their computers or charge their phones, but now things are back to normal and “everyone at the home is very happy.”
In addition, thanks again to our supporters, we were able to dig a well, install a water pumping system (powered by the solar power system) and a large tank to store the well water for use throughout the compound.
Prior to the solar water pump system, Sister Mary had informed us that “the children used to walk a long distance to fetch clean water for cooking and washing. We had dirty water which would make us sick if we used it for drinking and our clothing would get rusty color when used for washing.
In sum, “Our life has changed from poverty to happiness because now we have electricity, clean water and are expecting to have enough food near in the future.”
At the time all this was taking place, and the dozens of children and staff were still living in the home’s original building while construction of a new building on higher ground was ongoing for over three years supported by community members, but who were unable to finish due to limited resources and move it farther from the lake’s shores, the unthinkable happened: it flooded again!
“For now, the orphans are sleeping in the building where there is water in the house,” she reported in May. “The children sleep in beds whereby water is under their bed.”
And even more alarming, “The building can collapse at any time which may lead to the loss of lives.”
Meanwhile, as the new orphanage is still under construction, Sister Mary proposed to do necessary emergency work to make the new building habitable “so that the orphans can be evacuated from the house near the water to avoid them getting diseases in the building in water and escape the risk of the building’s collapse. “The new building when finished will be a place of relief to less fortunate children and youth. We are very grateful to be partnering with you to realize this dream.
