14-year-old Christine and her mother have reunited again for the first time in over a decade. Finally, mother and daughter have gotten the help they need and are in safe and healthy situations, with hope for the future.
Christine and her mother hugging
Christine’s Background
Christine is a child who is a part of OVC Mbarara Sustainable Program. Before we rescued and supported her, she lived with her mother, who struggled with severe mental illness while lacking access to mental health services.
Well-wishers told us that Christine’s mother came to Uganda during the genocide in Rwanda. She had arrived with two children the sisters of Christine. Not able to afford accommodations, the mother and daughters had nowhere to stay, so they were often found wandering around the cathedral.
Finally, a Good Samaritan offered to look after her two daughters, and Christine’s mother agreed, knowing that she could not provide them the life she wanted to give at that time. She continued battling with poor mental health for years while lacking services and resources to get help and get better. She got pregnant by Christine’s father, who is still unknown, and gave birth to Christine in 2011.
The day we rescued Christine
Christine’s mother’s mental health begins to get even worse after having another baby, holding her back from being able to care for her daughter since she was already struggling so much to care for herself. It was a horrible situation, which didn’t allow for a secure bond to form between mother and daughter.
Then, one day when Christine was three, her mother felt so helpless that she had made a plan to abandon her daughter. She threatened to throw Christine into a pit latrine. That is where Sr. Lillian, our current OVC Mbarara program administrator, found them and stepped in.
Safe and Sound
Our Program believes in protecting and safeguarding the lives of vulnerable children. At the time, Sr. Lillian was the program coordinator of OVC Mbarara and was thankfully able to rescue Christine.
We quickly found a loving family to care for her where she could be safe and loved in a home while we supported and monitored her. This is the same family fostering her now as I write this.
Finding hope and healing
Through our Program, she attended school for the first time at 5. Our program staff still follows up with and provides her and her foster family with essential needs and support. Christine did not see her mother again for over a decade. Their last encounter was very traumatic for her, and she feared being thrown into a pit latrine if she were to see her mother again.
Counseling is a huge part of what we do for children and families at OVC Mbarara. In counseling, Christine could finally process, work through, and heal that trauma she carried. In addition, counseling provided her with a safe place to talk about her feelings and thoughts toward her mother.
Finally, when Christine was 14 years old, she decided she would like to see her mother again for the first time since she was three years old.
Christine and her mother smiling after seeing each other for the first time in over 10 years.
The Reunion
We knew that Christine’s mother was finally getting the help she needed in a rehabilitation center, so our program staff coordinated and facilitated their reunion and was present during their meeting.
When Christine and her mother first saw each other again, they immediately began to shed tears of joy. It was a beautiful sight to witness, as they were so happy to see each other again. Both mother and daughter were finally in safe and healthy situations, and it was a very emotional reunion. Christine’s mother’s eyes beamed with motherly love and joy as they smiled, talked, and laughed.
Christine and her mother smiling after seeing each other for the first time in over 10 years.
A Mother’s Love
As a program, we believe that if Christine and her mother were to reunite and resettle as a family under one roof one day, we could set them up for success by supporting them through our family-strengthening programs for self-sufficiency.
It would be our goal to educate both parent and child, so they can both thrive and live meaningful lives. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of homes and available land for Christine and her mother to live in a home. We would need to be able to get a home for Christine and her mother for resettlement to be possible.
Having land also would provide economic empowerment to Christine and her mother to earn an income from growing and selling crops.
Appreciation
For donors who have been supporting Christine’s education by providing school fees and contributing to her other essential needs, we want to extend our sincere thanks.
Our work wouldn’t be possible without you. Together, we’ve been able to change the reality of Christine’s– and other children’s lives.
Program Administrator, Sr. Lilian, smiles for a photo with Christine and her mother
Getting involved
If you feel called to join us on our mission of ensuring sustainable family-based care for children, consider donating to help us better follow up with families and provide family-strengthening services to keep families together.
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