Milla Happonen

Nambirige Rehema

Rehema used to sell used newspapers at the roadside. She is
a 42 year-old separated from her second husband Munamasaka Mumpi. Their
marriage has been “on and off” with her second husband because of
his drunkenness and violence. Their home was just a grass hut in the middle of
the swamp. When it rains the “house” often just floats away. Rehema
has tumors in her womb and is trying to get treatment and a possible operation
to remove the growth (she does not know yet if it is cancerous or not). Rehema
has had a lot of sorrow in her life: she has eight children, and a
granddaughter Salwa 7 year-old (mom died of AIDS). She is also looking
after her sister’s 1.5 year-old daughter Viola who was born
prematurely when the baby’s mom died of AIDS. Only one of her kids has
been schooled to primary 4. One of her sons is mentally disabled; one of her
daughters died of AIDS at the age of 23 in 2004. In the same year her 21
year-old  son was murdered by a witch doctor as a human sacrifice.
Rehema’s second youngest daughter (11), run away from home last year and
has not been seen since. Caring Hands wanted to do something for this family:
to get away from the swamp to proper place to stay. We rented a room for them
and provided food. Rehema has been sent to the hospital for a checkup. We
started training Rehema to make paper beads in the beginning of March 2008.

Munamasaka Mumpi and wife Rehema in
front of their hut

Rehema & VIola

Rehema & VIola

 

 Ananso Evaline

Evaline is a 45 year-old  widow whose husband
died of AIDS in 1995. She is HIV-positive and it has developed into AIDS. She
takes ARVs to boost her immune system. There are 10 people living in a single
room in a small mud hut: her sister, five of her own children, and four
grandchildren. Recently one of her grandsons disappeared and she doesn’t
know what happened to him.  The day we went to her mud hut she was out
looking for work to get food for her family. Her kids were at home and there
was only some salt and three thumb-sized onions. The children had not eaten
anything for a number of days. We bought food and charcoal and told the oldest
daughter to tell mommy to come to visit us. Late that night, when it was dark
the tired lady came. She had not found any food in town. Caring Hands gave her
family mosquito nets, food, paid her rent and started training her to make
beads. Evaline has never been to school and doesn’t know how to read and
write.

Ananso Evaline

Benbeta

Benbeta

Benbeta

only food in a house

Nakate Erina

ust before Christmas Erina’s ex-husband abducted her
kids and took them to the other side of Uganda. Miraculously we managed to get
them back home unharmed. However, they all became very sick with respiratory infections.
Molly, the second oldest daughter and her baby daughter Loice 1.5
year-old’s were hospitalized. We encouraged Erina to be tested for
HIV. It was heart breaking news for Erina: both her daughter and granddaughter
tested positive for HIV. Her eldest daughter is also HIV-positive. We have
counseled her and shown her where she could go for treatment. The other
HIV-positive ladies in our group have also encouraged her, advising her how to
live positively, medical information, and nutrition. She also has the problem
of living in a rented dusty and unhygienic room. Erina is a very hard working
woman. Hopefully her future will be a pit brighter.

Nakate Erina and granddaughter Loice

Nakate Erina and granddaughter Loice

Nakate Erina and granddaughter Loice


Caring Hands.
Milla Happonen

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Caring Hands new ladies and other stories

Tendo Grace

Grace is a 32 year-old  widow. She has five
children. She is a very hard working woman. After her husband died she survived
by washing other peoples clothes. When we met her she was very desperate; she
couldn’t pay her rent and her kid’s school fees. What she earned by
washing clothes wasn’t enough to bring food on the table. Caring Hands
helped her with her house rent and the kids school fees for the first term. In
January 2008 we trained her to make paper beads. By the time her kids go back
for the second term she will be earning enough to pay for the  school fees
and for rent herself.

Tendo Grace and her family

Tendo Grace, “The happiest beader”

 

Apio Sedonia

Sedonia is a 39 year-old mother of four children. Her
husband left her at the end of last year after she tested positive for
HIV.  She was hopeless, hungry and dependant on the mercy of other
people’s charity. We took her to the bead making group in February and
now she is supporting her family.

Apio Sidonia

Ejang Miriam

Miriam is 26 year-old single mother of two young
children: Immaculate 9 and Roger 3. Her husband was abducted by the Kony rebels
in Northern Uganda. She doesn’t know if he is dead or alive. Miriam was
moving from relative to relative until she had no place to stay. Caring Hands
rented her a room for three, got her a bed, mattress, sheets, a mosquito net
and cooking pots. She wanted to study tailoring so we put her in a tailoring
school for a half a year course. Caring Hands provided her with a new sawing
machine and sewing supplies. We also support her with food until she can start
earning for her family.

Ejang Miriam, CH paid school fees for Immaculate
9yr

Ejang Miriam, CH paid 3months rent and put Miriam to
tailoring school for half a year

Ejang Miriam’s first work from tailoring school.
CH bought a new sawing machine for her

 

Namatovu Grace

Grace is a 37 year-old widow. Her husband died of AIDS
in 2000. Grace is HIV positive and her infection is in the final stage (AIDS).
She is receiving ARV’s (antiretroviral
therapy) to boost her immune system. Grace has two children. Caring
Hands has helped with her daughters by paying their school fees. They are
the only children at school from this extended family. Grace’s parents
died from AIDS. She lives in a single room where she is looking after her
younger brother and her sister’s son who had died of AIDS.

To get them going we gave them
helped with three month’s rent, paid daughters first term school fees and
took Grace in the group to make beads. By the time of next school term and
rental payment she will be earning necessary things for herself.

Namatovu Grace and daughter Grace

Benadette Beella

Bella Bernadette is a 34 year-old single mother. She
was living with her sick sister at the time of our Christmas food distribution
in 2005. The sister has since died and left an orphan little boy, Moses. Bella
has five of her own girls whose father deserted her because she was “only
having girls.” Bella cannot hold down a job because of the many children
who need her full attention. Caring Hands has given her an opportunity to make
beads (March 2008) so she can pay for her rent and food. She is excited about
the new hope this has brought into her life.

Bella Benadette & Daughter

Caring Hands.
Milla Happonen

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Caring Hands new ladies and other stories

Namome Fatuma

Fatuma is a 45 year-old Muslim lady. She became a
widow when her husband died of AIDS. She has AIDS also.  Fatuma came to
Caring Hands to look for help in August 2007. She has a primary 4 education.
She lives in a single roomed mud house with seven other people. Her 13
year-old daughter Sara disappeared for almost half a year. Fatuma became
physically sick from worrying too much. Last month old Sarah was found and was
okay. She had “just gone to work” with a friend’s relative
without letting her mother know where she went. Caring Hands has now assisted
Sara to go back to school. Fatuma has learned to make beads and this has
brought joy to her life. Last week at a Caring Hands meeting she testified to
the visitors from Finland: “I am so grateful to God, that Milla has
welcomed all of us, even us from different religions, into Caring Hands. I
feel, that there is no discrimination amongst the group. May God bless you
all for your love for us!”

Fatuma & Sara

Fatuma & Sara (June 23/07 Just before Sara’s dissapearance)

Mutachi Anny

Anny is a 26 year-old single mom. She has two
children, Vincent 11 and Vivian 9. Anny is HIV-positive. We took her to the
Caring Hands beading group in September 2007. Anny is very bright, pleasant and
hard working lady.

Mutachi Anny and Milla at Caring Hands Christmas
party 2007

 

Ayerwoot Beatrice

38 year-old Beatrice is a single mother and separated
from her husband. Last November 2007 her mud hut collapsed due to heavy rains.
She was left homeless with her three children. We took her immediately to the
bead making group and gave her a loan to build her own home. She now lives in
her newly built house and will finish paying her loan this year.

Ayerwoot Beatrice and kids in front of their newly
built home

 

Diiko Betty

Betty came to Caring Hands in January to ask for help with
her three children’s school fees. We are hoping to help her start an
income-generating business, so she can support her own family.

Betty Diiko, CH is paying school fees for
her children

 

Najjuma Sara

Sara is a 44 year-old  old widow. She has AIDS. She
is on ARV medication. Sara has six children. Her children are in the village
with relatives and she is staying in Kampala with her sister in one room mud
house. She misses and worries about her kids and hopes to see them more often.
She started with Caring Hands in January 2008.

Najjuma Sara

Najjuma Sara

Kisakye Mary

Mary is a 33 year-old  old widow. Her husband
died of AIDS. Mary is HIV-positive and her infection has developed into
AIDS. Mary has three children who are staying in the village with their
grandmother. Her biggest worries are her health, food, paying her rent,
providing school fees and other necessities for her children. Mary lives in a
small rented room.  We started training her to make beads from recycled
paper in January 2008.

Kisakye Mary

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Updates March08

 

o   Christmas
party in December12. 2007. We celebrated the women 0f Caring Hands and
“the Orphan Boys”  and CH made nice food and gave good
presents for them.

o   Milla
and Hannu in Finland promoting the work of the Caring Hands ladies
Jan16-Feb6.2008

o   The
office building project; waiting for the contractor to start working on the
interior of the containers.

o   RDC;
Bamwine Fred to visit CH, Feb29.2008(High official from district)

o   Juliet
Mugarura: Building more on her plot. Our #1 landlady(income generating from
rent). All done by beads.

o   Patrick&
Evarest: CH paid for first term university fees. Who wants to join to help
on the costs of studies for these two orphans?

o   Jane
Kankudiye: Rian’s mother is recovering from her accident (leg
amputated)  Last week she tried her new prosthesis for the first time. I
have booked for the first dance!

o   Nanduddu
Sylvia: little orphan, who lost her dad last summer. CH has paid for the
first terms fees. She has lost both of her parent because of AIDS. She is HIV
positive herself.

o   Nirere
Prossy: Everybody thought she would die. She slept out side; she did not
have now here to go. Her kids were taken to an orphanage. Herpes Zoster damaged
her eyesight. She was recently given her children back. Unfortunately her
landlord did not allow her kids to stay in her small rental room-a very
inconvenient new trend in Kampala. She has four of her own kids and one young
boy who has adopted her as his mother (a street kid, who came for her to receive
love and care since he was very small). Because her eyes are so damaged, she
has difficulties making the beads. CH assisted with school fees for the first
term. She can get rent and food money by making the necklaces, but she needs
assistance on her children’s school fees. At least Prossy has her kids
with her and that makes her happy. The only thing is that worrying about things
will not help her to stay well with her HIV positive status.  

o   Plots:
Recently four of our ladies have taken loans after saving one third themselves.
There are more applications for plots from other women from the group. It is
our goal that our ladies would have their own plots with their own houses. That
would boost their independency a lot.

o   Small
business loans; some ladies have applied for small business loans to boost
their economic at home. We also gave a loan for a bull for one gentleman, who
is returning to the north of Uganda.

o   Moses
Katunda: the young total orphan who looked after his younger siblings. We
assisted him to get a pit latrine to their land. Now all the kids are at school
and doing well. Fida’s child sponsorship program is taking care of him
and his siblings. CH will be supporting them when they come for holidays and
will get food for them.

o   Sunyu,
single mom  has come to assist us with housework, while our house help is
more occupied with caring Hands work. Sanyu is the mother of 
Natasha(little girl with cancer, who’s treatment CH has been taking care
of)

o   Kebagambe
Gad, Arthur&Able: Gad lost his wife 2004 because of AIDS. He is
HIV-positive and started with ARV’s last year. The boys are sponsored by
Fida’s program and CH is providing daily necessities like food and
medicine. We gave him work around the compound so that he is earning his living.
This is a temporary solution, but much better than breaking rocks all day 
and earning less than a dollar with heavy labor. He was very weak when he
came-from not eating well. We are feeding him three times when he is at
work-hopefully soon he will also feel stronger. He wants to get a plot from his
home village and build a small house. At that point we need to see that his
care is continuing and that the boys have an access to school. 

o   Agilo
Mary’s premature baby died March13.08. Mary herself is HIV-positive.

o   There
is an urgent need to council and teach the group of ladies about
HIV&AIDS, how to keep on strong for a long time. Our aim is that these
widows who are mothers would live as long as possible, so that their kids
wouldn’t become orphans at early age.

o   Visitors
to encourage CH: World Challenge, Pastor Marko Selkomaa from Thunder Bay,
Canada, several visitors from Finland, delectation of volunteers from Ethiopia,
South Africa and Kenya

o   Home
visits: all new clients are visited at their homes. We have a great need
for a professional social worker

o   Caring
Hands is actively looking for plot of land where we can build a
CH’s centre.

o   Thank
you for praying for all of us at Caring Hands!

Milla on behalf of CH

Uncategorized

Alice Achen & Sons

Alice is one of our beaders. We have been assisting her with 5yr oldKomacum's epilepsy treatment.

Caring Hands

Milla Happonen

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“The Orphan Boys”

 

1. Brian Asimwe 22,
was orphaned at an early age of three. He has stayed on the street, done odd
and petty jobs to survive. When he was introduced to Caring Hands, he was
serving with a small church but with a messed life. He dug together with the
other orphan boys the Caring Hands office foundation.

After several years of no school Caring Hands has taken
Brian back to school, paid rent for a place for him and gives him food. What a
blessing it was when a family in Finland and in Canada offered to support this
orphan boy.

 

 

2. Martin Olupot 23,
was orphaned when both his parents lost their battles with HIV. He lived with
an aunt who stopped paying his fees when he was in senior four. As he worked at
the Caring Hands foundation, all he wanted was to become a Veterinary doctor.

Today Caring Hands has paid for his tuition and he is back
to school. He has a hope and a future. The biggest problem at his home is lack
of daily food.

 

3. Sande Moses 32,
lost his father when he was hardly a year. When his mother was very sick, she
left the three year old Sande in the one roomed house they lived in, all alone.
He ate at the rubbish pits and begged to get by. A man passing by recognized
him and took him to a relative who kept him for a short while and sent him to
another relative and that one to another till he got back on the street. He met
Jesus when he went to a church and the loved him. When he came to Caring Hands,
he had met and married his beautiful wife but still was too broke to support
her. He dug the foundation and the office and through Caring Hands got a sewing
machine for his wife. Now they can offer a better life for their soon coming
child.

 

4. Katunda Moses 19
lost both his parents to AIDS. He was left with two siblings and a 3 yr old nephew.
An organization provided their school fees but never gave anything towards
their food or medication. Moses struggled and did odd jobs to feed his
siblings. He lost the opportunity for sponsorship when that organization
required him to go to boarding school and live his siblings on their own.
Caring Hands gave him work at the office foundation during the holidays. Caring
Hands also paid for the contraction of a pit latrine (toilet) that the children
so desperately needed. Moses has gone back to school and his fees are paid by
the Fida Internationals child sponsorship program.

 

5. When Patrick Kaswara (21) orphan boy came to
the Happonens for work during his holidays, he did not look like your average 15
year old. He proved to be a very hard working and honest young man. He filled
in for others and kept working. The organization that was sponsoring his school
fees soon cut him off and he was desperate. The Caring Hands then paid his
school fees and he soon finished his Advanced level. His deepest desire was
always to become a pilot.  Milla looking
at him told him never to loose sight of his dreams.

Today Patrick is pursuing his Pilot license and who knows
what else is in store for this young man with a dream.

Caring Hands.

Milla Happonen

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Bella Bernadette

Bella Bernadette lived with a sick sister at the time of our
Christmas food distribution. The sister has since died survived by a little
boy, Moses. Bella has five of her own girls whose father deserted her because
she was “only having girls”. Bella can not hold down a job because of the many
children who need her attention fully.

Caring Hands has since offered an opportunity in making
jewelry and paid her rent and food.

She says she is excited about the new hope of life.

Caring Hands.

Milla Happonen

Uncategorized

Margaret
Muhongerwa

 

Margaret moved in to live with a man almost twenty years her
senior when she was 19. She had two children Ivan Rutagasa, 12 and Isaac
Magando 10 with this man who was constantly getting drunk and beating on her.
He later fell sick and died leaving her with no hope and no future.

His relatives took all the property they had together
including his pension.

She later took one boy to a Good Samaritan and another to an
aunt in the village while she looked for odd jobs to send their fees. Soon she
got out of ideas and came to Caring Hands.

Margaret needs help with her rent and the children’s fees.

Caring Hands

Milla Happonen

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