ROTOM: On the Frontlines of the Pandemic
December 15, 2008
Kampala, Uganda
by Edmund Kenneth Mugayehwenkyi
The AIDS pandemic has significantly affected the traditional family structure. Millions of children have lost one or both parents and are now cared for by their grandparents. For two years, we have worked with grannies and their grandchildren in the Kahama and Wacheba villages of Kabale, Uganda and I have learned that the war against poverty and HIV/AIDS has its frontlines at the grassroots — not only because of the paininflicted, but because the war against AIDS will be won at the grassroots.
ROTOM supports grannies and children under their care by looking after their spiritual, emotional and physical needs, including food, water, sanitation, shelter and medical care. We empower them economically through income-generating activities and facilitate bi-weekly community support group meetings for grandmothers and grandfathers. By sharing with each other under the guidance of a counsellor, they are better able to deal with the trauma of losing their children to HIV/AIDS and can learn to cope with the new challenge of parenting orphaned grandchildren. Grannies are taught about the virus with an emphasis on prevention and caring for the sick. With this knowledge they have the armour to battle the scourge. Grannies also develop friendships, which have become the fabric for mutual support.
We also sponsor regular medical screening and treatment for grannies and provide much needed food supplements. Because of this, they are now in better health which enables them to engage in economic ventures like raising goats and planting potatoes. This creates a safer and better environment to raise their grandchildren with less pressure to marry young girls off at an early age.
For children, we pay for school tuition, meals and scholastic materials to give them a chance to acquire a basic education and eventually get a job and earn an income. Even more important are the self-esteem and confidence-building programmes. Each of the children supported by ROTOM has developed confidential and trusting relations with social workers and volunteers so they can easily seek support to deal with past trauma and abuse. Girls have gained confidence to seek counsel for personal challenges and are now better educated and equipped to resist detractors and deal with potential sex abusers.
We have also established relations with grassroots leaders, including faith leaders, civic and opinion leaders. Working through these leaders and with local police authorities, we have educated the broader community about child abuse, especially sexual abuse of girls. We work on reporting cases to the police, some of which have been acted on with arrests and warnings, sending a strong message to would-be abusers. In one case where local men at a bar were demandiKenneth Mugayehwenkyi is the Executive Director of Reach One Touch One Ministries (ROTOM).ng inappropriate hugs and touches from girls on their way from school, we alerted the police who warned the men and the practice stopped.
We now feel that the grannies are empowered to raise their grandchildren, the community is ready to protect the children and the children themselves are empowered to fight for their lives. With this new war front against the pandemic, it will not be long before HIV/AIDS in this community is significantly reduced.