Griffin and his Mother pose for a photo with their goats through support from ACFP.
Brenda is 37 years old, a mother of 4 children: 2 boys and 2 girls. She lives in Kitgum District, Bobi Village, Ibakara Parish along Kidepo National Park High way East in Laroo. At the age of 23 years Brenda got married to her lovely husband and father of her children, because her parents were not able to support her education, this was at the time Northern Uganda was experiencing political instability, it was avery difficult time for all teenage girls in Acholi sub-Region. In her expression, girls were no longer considered a pride in Acholi region. She remembers her experience in daily conflict in their family. “My mother was always beaten by my father, there was no love in our family” The actions of her father a catalysed her to get married for the sake of peace, even then her parents could hardly afford to support her education, her siblings could no longer go to school and the family was left with nothing to rely on, she remarked with tearing eyes “Our home was never desirable for any good child”.
Brenda married was peaceful and being a young mother, married to community supported by Child Fund through Acholi Child and Family program, She joined Child Fund sponsorship program under Ibakara child and Family program office affiliated to Acholi Child and Family Program in 2015. At the time Brenda and her family had no assets or resources and worked as labourers to get some money to buy food. They were lucky to eat food out of their garden harvest. During Community engagements on sponsorship in Ibakara community, Bobi Zone, her Child Griffin was identified among the many children to be enrolled in child Fund sponsorship program. To her it was a sign of relief since she had experienced the many things the projected had done to many children, youth and families during her childhood times and this opportunity was a blessing and hope for her young family.
In 2018, Acholi child and family embarked on empowering families and groups in the community to become self-sustaining through micro-grants. Our family group called “Wan Ayee” was among the groups identified to be supported with training on enterprise selection and later to be supported, the process of enterprise selection was quite challenging to the entire group of 30 members. After the training by the extension worker, we selected a goat project and officer supported the group with 1,250,000 and the group bought 20 goats to be given to the first identified beneficiaries, “by God’s Brenda I was among the first beneficiaries”. To Brenda this did not just come as a gift but an opportunity to exert her two hands to start a journey of hope. “Within one year my goat hard produced triplets, the goat came with hope”
Brenda and her son Griffin, wear a smile in their faces ‘’I can proudly say I have beaten this poverty I see myself far from where I came from, think my children will study with this goat, I will buy land with this goat”. Says Brenda, the mother to Griffin enrolled child case 77 of Ibakara.
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