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| Moses Masaba |
Meet Moses.
He's 13 years old though he doesn't know when his birthday
is. Moses comes from eastern Uganda near to Mbale but currently lives on the streets of Jinja, where he has been for just
over three months.
Current status:
We are very pleased to be able to say that, with the support of his sponsor, Moses is no longer living on the streets. He
went through an acclimatisation period in February 2008 during which he lived with Mike our Regional Director, helping
him adjust to life off the streets.
Now he is enjoying being a boarder at Joy Emmanuel Oasis Primary School, where
he is currently in Primary Three. We are very excited about what the future might hold for Moses now. He is so happy and grateful
to be given this chance to go back to school.
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| Moses unpacking. |
Background: Moses
doesn't remember his parents. His father died of HIV and his mother passed away shortly after whilst he was still a toddler.
He was handed to his aunt who took the land that had been left to him by his parents, using it to open a bar selling local
brew. Initially, his aunt was married, but her husband left her when he discovered she was barren. She became a prostitute,
bringing different men into the house every night, something Moses only came to realise last year. Whenever Moses went to
her, for even the smallest thing, he would be beaten and sent away. Eventually, Moses couldn't take it anymore; he left his
home and ran away to the street. The constant beatings were too much for him, and there was no money to pay for his school
fees. He could no longer see any reason for him to continue staying with his aunt. He walked 21 km from his home in Wakisi
to Jinja to start his life on the streets. Moses had no-where else to go, and thought that there was no other option left
to him.
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| Moses with Ronald, Mike, and Mary at school. |
Education: Moses
attended school up to the end of Primary 3 and his main desire at the moment is to return to school and continue his education.
He used to really enjoy school, and he especially liked maths and science. It has now been 7-8 months since he last went to
school, and he is eager to return; with the more time that passes, the further away an education seems for him.
Life on the streets:
On the streets, Moses lives with his best friend Ronald who he met at the taxi park a few days after coming from Wakisi. They
do everything together and are very loving and caring towards each other. They seem as close as real brothers, and there is
a strong mutual dependence as each looks to the other for their safety and wellbeing.
They spend their days together trying
to earn a small amount of money so that they can afford their food for the day. They are very enterprising boys and they earn
their money in several different ways. They can be found picking through the rubbish to find plastic bottles to sell for a
pittance (half a dozen bottles earns them 3.4p), carrying water for people, or ferrying heavy loads to and from the market.
Some days they make their way to the offices of CRO, an organisation in Jinja that works with street children. Here they occasionally
get given food, but CRO can offer them no other help, and provides no solution to their current situation.
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| Moses in one of the spots he used to sleep in. |
The worst thing about being on the street is the nights. They sleep on the pavement
in a semi-secure place outside a shop. As well as the fear of being rounded up by the police, the nights bring with them the
constant worry of the cold and the mosquitoes, and the plastic sheets they use to cover themselves certainly don't bring much
comfort. It has been months since either of the boys have had a full night's sleep as one of them always has to be on the
alert, keeping a look-out throughout the night. If the police do catch them off guard, they demand money from them. But with
no money to their names, there is never any way to appease the police. The boys are rounded up and taken to the police cells
where they spend yet another sleepless night as they are made to do heavy cleaning work. But the dangers don't stop with the
police. Drunks and passersby frequently beat the boys for no reason other than for being street children. There is never any
rest for these two young 13-year olds; they are always on the alert to the dangers that surround them.
A lot of children
on the streets turn to drugs as a way of coping with their hard lives on the street. Moses and Ronald have wise heads on their
young shoulders though. They understand the danger of drugs and how easy it is to fall into this way of life. Together they
have shunned the pervasive street culture of drug-taking and have instead turned to each other to help them cope with the
pain and difficulties of being on the street.
The worst thing about life on the
streets: For Moses there are two things that he really hates about his life on the streets. He hates to sleep
in the cold, and he hates always being hungry, because no matter what little money they manage to get, there is never enough
to satisfy their appetites. The search for food is never-ending.
Future dreams:
Moses would like to study hard so that he can achieve his dream of one day becoming a teacher.
Back to Sponsor a Child
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© 2008 SALVE International
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