Summary

This is a family of five living under the care of a single mother. She is the biological mother to one of the children, Christopher. Samuel (14yrs) who is the oldest child is the son of her late sister, then Janet and Samuel (7yrs) are siblings, children of her brother. They live in the slums of Katwe and have been here for at least three years.

 

Dollar Rate

USD. 1 = UGX. 3,500

 

Monthly Income

The collective monthly income for this family is estimated at $11.42 USD (UGX. 40,000) which is the mother’s labour from washing clothes in the area and sometimes utensils at a market’s cooking places.

 

Monthly Expenditure

Food depends on what is made on that day

Rent N/A
Electricity N/A
Health <unknown>
Water <unknown>

Education N/A
 

Challenges

Betty used to live in a reasonable accommodation with a sister who about three years ago (about the time of the COVID-19 outbreak) gave her the option to send her children away so she can continue to live with her or find another place to live. She chose to move out of the house and look for a place to live. About two months ago she moved to the place where I found them living, it is essentially the rooftop of a bathroom and toilet. The size of their living space is pretty much close to the size of an ordinary bathtub with an extremely small set of stairs leading up to where they spend the night.

 

The covering over them which acts as a roof is made of synthetic thermoplastic (commonly used for making sacks) and the partitions which act as walls are pieces of wood nailed together. The rooftop has another occupant and only separated by a half partition of wood. Their floor is covered with a used banner. The family says that this small place where they live is much bigger than the place they previously stayed.

 

The family has extremely poor housing although the children seemed in good health. However, the little girl, Janet, seemed exhausted and was mostly quiet during the time of our visit there. They are struggling to feed because they eat when money is made which means that they are most likely going through days when they do not eat.

 

Family Priority

1. Education

2. Housing

3. Food

4. Business Capital

 

Suggested Intervention

The family needs to find a bigger place to live because their current living conditions are entirely terrible. Their quarters are filled with the smell from the bathroom and toilet below. There is bath water as they make their way to the top of an extremely narrow set of stairs.

 

There is also a need for food because right now the family seems to eat only when some money is made. There is an indication that the boys are most likely collecting glass and plastic for sale in order to add to the mother’s income.

 

Since having the children in school is the mother’s first priority, there is a government aided school in the area where the kids can be enrolled which will give the mother more time to work and fend for the family without having to worry constantly about the wellbeing of her children.

 

Other Deliberations

Before the family moved to the rooftop where they currently are, they were living in a smaller space where they could not all fit and as a result, the older boy Samuel (14) used to sleep in the market stalls which were about 1km away and then he would link up with Betty in the morning for her to find out how he is.

 

When I asked Betty how she ended up with her brother’s children, she explained that their mother abandoned them and when COVID-19 hit, he could not stand to suffer with them and asked her to look after them instead. She says that he is worse of than she is and almost never sends any help to look after them.

 

I also explained to her that I needed her to consider a business idea that will help her look after her family and that should her family profile be considered for help, she should grasp the opportunity with both hands and make the most of it.