Dwelling Places

Our first day in Kampala, the heavens opened and the rain poured almost non-stop all day. Normally for two Scottish girls this isn’t a big deal, but here when it rains pretty much everything stops. We are living up a hill and the orange mud roads turn into rivers with the rain, so most people stay inside as much as they can until the rain is over. This meant that we missed church on our first Sunday in Uganda, but it was actually a blessing in disguise as it gave us time to get to know the other two girls we will be living with in the volunteer cottage, Lynn and Laura (yes, another 1!). Laura number 2 is from Canada and Lynn is from Northern Ireland, they have both been here for a month already and have another 2 to go, so we will be spending the rest of our time here with them, so its a good thing we are all getting on really well and they seem really lovely (and i’m not just saying that in case they read this!). The four of us are sharing a cute little 2 bedroom cottage in a compound with some of the other Dwelling Places staff. Laura and I are actually in the converted garage, but if it wasn’t for the big metal wall you could never tell, and now we’ve unpacked its lovely and homely. The cottage interior is very basic, with all the essentials; a fridge, a table, a sink, a bathroom and even a working shower. But by far the nicest thing about the house is the fact it is in a compound where other women are always walking around, washing clothes, playing and laughing outside our window, and so when we are home we have our door open to the many visitors we receive from our neighbours. It’s just such a nice relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, shame you couldn’t do this in Glasgow without all your things being stolen!
Monday morning we all woke up early and so Laura (number 1) and I walked the short distance along the road with Laura (number 2) up to the Dwelling places offices where we were met by the volunteer co-ordinator, Martha. We spent the day in “orientation”, where we were shown around the offices, met the staff, visited the children’s home and were given our job descriptions for the next 7weeks. The children are actually on holiday from their schools right now until the end of the month, and so Dwelling Places are taking this opportunity to see if the children will settle into the homes that are lined up for them.
Let me explain...Dwelling Places uses a programme based around four R’s: rescue, rehabilitation, reconciliation and resettlement. The first stage “Rescue” involves social workers from Dwelling Places going out into Kampala and the surrounding slum areas to build relationships with the children who are begging and living on the streets. Once this relationship is formed and trust is built the outreach and medical team can assess the children best suited to Dwelling Places and create a specific programme for that child. The children are then brought into the Dwelling Places to live in the “Transitional Home” where the “Rehabilitation” stage can begin. Street children are the outcasts of society here and can so easily become mixed up in a whirlwind of drugs, abuse, sexual activity and theft from a very young age. Dwelling Places therefore use the Transitional Home to teach the children basic everything: English, hygiene, social skills, self esteem, even how to sleep in a bed rather than the street. This can then lead onto education in the “interim school” which, through funding from child sponsorship, can lead to access to the mainstream education system.
After a minimum of 2 years, depending on the stage of development of each child, “Reconciliation” with a family can begin. Dwelling Places’ founder Rita Nkembe doesn’t believe in institutions for children where avoidable, and understands the importance of a loving, family environment. So as soon as the child trusts the staff enough to open up about their family, a search begins for any family members. If family are found, the social workers conduct a thorough investigation into the family to see if reintegration of the child into this family is the best thing for the child. If this is found to be the case then the family members are invited to join the Family Empowerment Programme, run by Dwelling Places to provide families with the skills and education to provide a loving home environment for a family. This involves many things such as counselling, health advice, skill training and housing in a safe area. If however the family cannot be traced or is deemed a bad environment for the child, a foster family is found instead and adoption can also take place.
The final stage is “Resettlement” where the child is integrated back into their family (or into their new family). This is a long process, with short term visits, followed by assessments and then continual reassessment of the family situation after the child moves in with the family for good. When a child is nearing adulthood, they will be given trained in skills to allow them to live independently, ie. Craft skills, trades, business lessons.
SO....the last intake of children was three years ago and so the aim for this year is for all the children to be resettled by the end of the year and a new rescue intake to begin next year. So right now the children are mainly all spending the holidays in their soon to be new homes as a kind of trial period. Only eight of the girls are left, as either their lessons were still running or they don’t yet have a family to go to. Therefore until the children come back on May 23rd Laura and I will be helping more around the office with different things and getting our head around the organisation, before helping with the kids on their return. Laura being as technical minded as she is, has been asked to help in the public relations office with several computer related tasks and computer training for staff. I have been asked to help create and teach a performance to the children for an upcoming advocacy event they will be attending. The theme is “Created in God’s image”, but other than that I don’t know much yet. I’m sure everything will make sense and flesh out in the next few weeks for us both. But I really need to learn to be patient as I want to help in absolutely every department RIGHT NOW, but as Laura keeps telling me, it’s good for us to find our feet and the deep end isn’t always the best way into things. I wish I didn’t need to learn that lesson...I’m far too impatient for it!
I really can’t wait for the work in the next few months though, as we get to know the children and understand the heart behind an incredible organisation. Every staff member is so nice and even the locals are more used to mzungos, so we only get the occasional shout in the street which is nice for us. I think we will make some incredible memories here and learn some invaluable lessons.
xxx