Caring for children and elderly is providing to them a sense of purpose every individual would wish to have to get rid of dread and uncertainty for living the next day.
It stops them from feeling isolated and depressed in the community. Most of the elderly raised and made sacrifices for children anticipating support at their weak age.
Unfortunately, various factors including death and other disabilities force them to instead leave behind children with their grannies who toil to see them survive.
Elderly eventually becomes older, sick, weak and frail were they need more attention, love and understanding but they fail to access quality elderly care.
Most of them end up calling for death leaving behind grandchildren who get married at teenage stage and boys involving in unacceptable behaviors such as theft and drug addiction which completely turn them into public nuisance.
Little that have taken time to understand the lifestyle of people under the communities where they live but from attending classes to teach, Abbas Ssozi Ssegujja learnt from the behaviors and conducts of various children that they need serious support to transform the wellbeing at their homes.
“I was shocked to see students attending school in almost rags, as others are concentrated, for them are dozing. When I conducted a survey in Mukono Municipality, I realized a number of such students and pupils stay with their grannies whose body weakness almost left them disabled. Ssozi notes.
He reveals that he was forced to start up a foundation of Mukono Child Support Initiative to provide scholastic materials and school fees to most of the children before realizing that families were they come from needs support in form of especially food.
“Our foundation has 172 orphaned children we support from within their families in Mukono district. Since the schools are now in recess, we chose to extend support in form of food but we again realized their so many elderly people suffering which forced us to include them in our program.” Ssozi remarks.
Jane Nakato a widow at Kavule zone in Mukono Municipality who is caring for about 16 grandchildren is much grateful for Ssozi whom she says saved her from money lenders who had asked for her land title to grant her a loan of shillings 150, 000.
“One of my sons died after buying a plot of land in Buikwe, so I had secured the loan to construct a muddy and lead house so that I stop renting the roomed apartment where I sleep with all my grandchildren.” Nakato narrates.
Masturah Nabaazo another 80-year-old widow at Kikooza says was getting tired of struggling for food during this lockdown period but Ssozi gave him a chance to smile again when he delivered to her home posho, beans, milk, soap, bread and sugar.
Samuel Ssejjumwa a resident at Mukono Central town applauds Ssozi for the initiative he started saying it has many a second chance of leaving a better life.
“Now supporting children and elderly at a tender age, what will happen when blesses him with more money as he continues to grow from his youthful age,” Ssejjumwa wonders.
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