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| Regional Director, Mike Asiya |
Educational Background:
Diploma in Civil Engineering from Kyambogo University
Degree
in counseling from The University of Carolina (USA) Certificate in HIV/AIDS counseling with The AIDS Intervention Program
Personal Background: Mike
grew up in Arua in the far north-west of Uganda. He was rejected at two months old by his father and was sent to live with
his grandparents who brought him up. Mike's grandfather was the chief of the local tribe, and for the first few years of his
life they lived very happily. But at six years old, Mike's whole world changed. It was 1979 and the country was in the grip
of Idi Amin's terror. Like so many families throughout Uganda, they feared for their lives on a day-to-day basis; no-one knew
if they would wake up the next morning. For Ugandans all over, life couldn't get much worse. But for Mike's family it did.
Some people saw the upheavals of the time as an opportunity to take power. In the struggle to retain their position in their
tribe Mike's grandparents were murdered, leaving him with no home and no family. At just six years old, Mike had no option
but to take to the streets.
For two years he survived by sleeping in the bush at night and coming to the streets during
the day. The search for food was constant, and Mike would go from house to house asking for scraps, despite often being stoned
as the local villagers chased him away. During his years on the street, Mike lived with two older boys. He never knew their
names but instead called them Cassava - who always made sure that Mike was fed before he was - and Sheet - who kept Mike warm
at night when he was cold. The boys were desperate for food day in day out, and when a man approached them, asking them to
take packages across the nearby Uganda-Congo border in return for chapattis, they jumped at the chance. It was months before
they realised that they were caught up in a smuggling ring. Every time they had crossed the border they had been risking life
and limb by carrying illegal gold in their pockets.
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| Mike with Ziwa, Moses, Ronald and Emma. |
But at last, Mike's luck changed when he was approached by a man called
David who worked for World Vision. He took Mike off the streets, taking him to live with his own family and putting him into
school. However, in the back of Mike's mind was the thought that his family was still out there, and his dreams of one day
finding his mother began to turn to desperation. After three years of living with David's family, with his hope of ever finding
his mother growing smaller by the day, Mike found someone who could help him. They were able to trace his mother who was still
living in a village in the north with his father. But she couldn't take Mike in - she was terrified of what would happen if
her husband found out she had been in contact with their son. So Mike was passed from hand to hand, eventually ending up with
an aunt in Jinja. And from there, Mike's story became one of success as he was put through the education system, completing
school, gaining a degree, and going on to work with many international NGOs.
Professional Background:
Mike started work with an American NGO called Teen Missions straight out of university. For his first nine months on the job
he was trained in Bible Studies, and upon completing the course, went on to teach and co-ordinate mission work in Kenya, South
Africa, Mozambique and Malawi.
Mike left Teen Missions in order to further his studies, and from there worked with
a German NGO called Betaseda International. This was a child sponsorship program for which he arranged school fees and co-ordinated
getting the children back into school. After leaving Betaseda in 2003, Mike went to work at The El-Shadai Family Foster Home
as part of Rejoice Outreach International, a locally based Ugandan NGO. Mike has a great deal of experience of working with
children, and due to his past, it is especially poignant for him to now be working with street children as part of S.A.L.V.E.
International.
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| Mike, Moses, and Ronald with Mary the school's Director. |
Why have you chosen to work with
S.A.L.V.E. International?
Over the years, Mike has personally supported a number of children
through school, and of an evening, he can often be found sharing his dinner with Jinja's street children. With or without
the project, Mike would still be involved with these children. No child deserves to live on the streets, and no child deserves
to go through the pain and loneliness that Mike remembers from his own past. As you watch Jinja's street kids looking after
themselves without an adult in sight, it is easy to forget that they are still just children and they are still so young.
Mike believes that S.A.L.V.E. will get them to a better place wherever they come from and whatever their background.
What do you see the future of S.A.L.V.E.
International as being?
As well as the hope of seeing S.A.L.V.E.'s children completing
their education and looking towards bright futures, Mike hopes to see the charity expand. He would like to see S.A.L.V.E.
running in the four main street child centres in Uganda: Jinja, Mbale, Lira and Arua. Currently, S.A.L.V.E. is unique in that
its children are going to be fostered into people's own homes. However, in the long run Mike feels the project would gain
greater sustainability through setting up its own small family foster homes in these four centres. S.A.L.V.E. has so many
possibilities, and with time Mike hopes to help the organisation achieve them all.
Back to Meet Our Team
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© 2008 SALVE International
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