Long before the Queen of Katwe book & movie, the ARK Foundation was helping orphans and grandmothers in Katwe, Uganda
Irene Nabatta has grown up in Katwe, the overcrowded slum in Uganda’s capital city of Kampala. Katwe is rife with challenges stemming from extreme poverty, the devastation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and domestic violence.
When Irene was very young, both her father and mother died of AIDS-related complications. “When my parents died, Grandma came to live with us in a one-room space with no running water or electricity,” Irene said. “I was 13 years old when I finished primary school, the oldest of five children. I couldn’t continue for lack of school fees. Grandma had a small business selling packaged drinking water, but she could barely make enough to buy food and pay our monthly rent of $3.”
Irene tried to think of a way to continue her education so she could eventually leave Katwe. Several international organizations offered school fees to poor children, but competition was fierce and the requirements tough to meet. Applicants were expected to have scored an A+ grade on the national primary school examination and often were required to attend schools selected by the sponsoring organizations, sometimes far from their families and communities. “I didn’t have the best grades,” Irene explained. She didn’t qualify for these programs because her exam grades weren’t good enough, and her grandmother needed her help at home with her four younger siblings. “The family needed me to stay closer to home; boarding school couldn’t work in my situation,” Irene said. She and her grandmother both felt hopeless and trapped.
Irene’s grandmother finds hope through ARK’s “Adopt a Grandma” program
“When I lost my son and daughter-in-law, I suddenly became irritable,” Irene’s grandmother tells her story. “I was 66 years old, my energy sapped for months. I blamed everybody, and the days dragged by, as if I was sliding backwards in time. Struggling to raise my five grandchildren, their presence still gave me unconditional joy. But real hope came when a friend invited me to attend a support group of grandmothers. After I joined the support group, I reclaimed my strength and started living again.”
In 2008, Irene’s family became part of the ARK “Adopt-a-Grandma” program. Irene was able to go back to school after a two-year absence, even though in the interim she had a baby. Her grandmother cared for the baby while she attended school, and Irene excelled academically.
Vulnerable children growing up under these conditions mature faster, especially girls. Irene explains: “I developed quickly because I had to work out the world partly on my own—how to find help, how to dress, how to help grandma pay rent, and how to function as a teen mom, including how to live within our toxic community.” Children like Irene grow up making decisions alongside their grandmas; however, with some external support, they develop competence, social skills, and wisdom to succeed later in life. Irene is one of the lucky ones that got that support.
Irene today
In 2014, Irene graduated from high school and went on to pursue a degree in Education at Kyambogo University, with majors in Math and Geography. When she graduates next spring, she will begin her teaching career at Summit High School, ten miles away from the Katwe slums. Irene still lives in Katwe with her grandmother and siblings, but in a better area of the slum than before, with two-bedrooms and electricity.
“As a teen mother, I made a lot of mistakes that could have been avoided if Grandma had found the support network much earlier,” Irene said. “My mentor Ms. Lydia from ARK is a nurse, she provides me with constant advice including selection of course load, and is still guiding me in navigating life’s challenges. Being in school offers children additional social support and protection”, Irene explained. “School has played a special role in my life and in the lives of other orphans and vulnerable children,” she said. “If I had not gone back to school, I would have no future. Today, the possibility of moving out of Katwe with Grandma and my siblings is guaranteed because with a career in Education, you get hired before you graduate. I already teach part-time.”
The Adopt-a-Grandma program and provision of education to vulnerable children attest to ARK’s commitment to our comprehensive social protection program. This program is essential to creating opportunities that help children such as Irene reach their full potential.
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