2022

2022 Was An Incredible Year Thanks To You!

As the new year begins, let's revisit what we accomplished together over the past year.

The Desire Family, with much love, would like to express our deepest thanks to everyone who has helped us to reach this stage of our development. It has really not been an easy year, but because of your endless love and generous support, yes, we have arrived at the end of the year far better than we started out.

Reviewing our 2022 journey: the highs, the lows

This has been such a tough year for us due to the many challenges we faced, especially between January and May. Plagued with misfortune after misfortune and a desperate lack of funds, we had no choice but to live in a very bad slum area of Kampala where life was really difficult, especially for the children, with poor housing, poor nutrition, no green space for kids to run and play in, rampant poverty-related diseases, and with limited medication available to treat our vulnerable kids.

Healthcare and hospital stays are very expensive here in the capital city of Kampala, so whenever there was a health emergency we had to treat ourselves just by guessing what illnesses we were dealing with. We just bought basic medicines from a pharmacy and, thankfully, most of the time we were on the right track because the most common diseases in the slums are typhoid and malaria, both life-threatening in children. Our only option was just to buy tablets and treat ourselves without any tests or doctor prescriptions, which was certainly putting our lives in danger regularly.

We slept 19 people (16 Desire Kids, two of my natural kids, and me) in two small, poor rooms, and because of such little space and minimal bedding, we were forced to sleep in shifts. I myself was only able to sleep in the morning after all the kids were awake because I couldn't find a place to sleep at night. Shortages of food and other essentials were another problem we constantly faced this year. The other 16 kids were already living in the village with my mum, which was also a struggle for her, but a far better place for the children than the slum, with fresh air, fresh nutritious foods, traditional healing techniques, and much less expensive education fees than in the city.

On the land we once had in the village where my mother lives, we used to grow enough food for our kids, but most of our land was stolen from us, leaving only a small parcel that is not large enough to grow enough food or to be self-sufficient. We had some pigs as well, but most were lost from someone poisoning them (we still are not sure who) and most of the rest died from swine flu soon after that. Along with selling our produce, our pigs were an important source of income. Losing both hit us very hard. Also, profits from my small second-hand women's clothing business, which had helped to take care of us with the means to buy some food, rent, and other essential needs, were hit hard this year due to limited capital and poor local economy.

How it changed

In May, one of my Facebook friends in the USA asked his friend to look after me and mentor us in developing our Desire Child Care Organization. After connecting with Papa Henry-Cameron Allen, who is a great mentor, sponsor, and advisor, many things changed for us in just a few months!

I shared our story and challenges with him, and he advised me to legally register our organization immediately because he did not believe that people would trust an organization that rescues and cares for orphaned and vulnerable children that is not legally incorporated. It was great advice, and we started working toward this on the spot.

Because our government was already aware of and appreciative of our work in rescuing and adopting these 32 children into our care, and with the support of some friends and family, we incorporated as a legal organization within a few days, which was really a great achievement!! Right away, Papa Henry-Cameron set to work designing our website, www.DesireChildCare.org. I just sent him everything and he designed it for us, which was so great because many people around the world could now find us and learn more about us. Since the website was launched in mid-May, it has had almost 350 unique visitors from 30 countries!

Now that Desire Child Care Organization was a legally recognized organization, we were able to get a Post Office Box address and open a dedicated business bank account in our name. We could never have done this if we were not an officially registered legal entity. Because of those achievements, many of you joined us because you knew you could trust our work, our word, and the integrity of the person who is mentoring us.

Homeless for three days

Just a few weeks after achieving our certificate of incorporation, we were met with another disaster. We became homeless for 3 days because we had been unable to pay the mandatory 5 month's advance rent for our two rented rooms in the slum of Kasubi, and the owner of the building also had plans to remodel, so she locked us out with no access to our belongings or food! The kids and I were forced to sleep on the streets for 3 days and nights. After the police and LC (Local Council) team were notified of our situation, they forced the landlady to give us one more month to look for another home place. But 30 days passed quickly and we still had no funds to find a new place, which forced me to meet with our landlady again and plead for another 14 days.

I informed Papa Henry-Cameron about what had passed, and he decided to launch an emergency housing campaign for us on GoFundMe which people overwhelmingly supported. In just a few days we achieved our goal and even got a surplus which we used to buy food and other needs! We moved into a lovely small house in the city with affordable rent and a secure high-walled garden for the children to play in, where we have been able to grow some small crops. We have just harvested our first tomatoes! Thanks to your support, the children are so happy to be completely free from slum life, and they are learning good farming skills, even in the city.

The tent, and why the children are split between two places

The week after we moved into our new home, we launched a fundraiser to buy a large, good-quality camping tent because we decided to move 8 of our city Desire Kids to join the 16 kids in the country to save more money, even though it meant more work for my mum. She is a saint for all she does for these kids.

We moved them to the countryside because the education system in Kampala is expensive, and we couldn't afford it for so many kids. We decided to keep 8 of the older kids here who were not in a position to change schools because they were in semi and candidates class (with only one year to finish primary level). Semi and candidates class students are not permitted to change schools. So we decided that the others should join the 16 kids who were already in the country and they would use that tent temporarily, because mum's house was not big enough to accommodate all 24 kids, and we needed to build an annex to accommodate them. We changed the emergency housing campaign to the tent campaign on GoFundMe, which was another great success.

Next, we changed the campaign to an education fund to raise enough for their school fees and requirements. That was also a big success!

Because of your kind support, we received educational sponsorships for all 28 school-age Desire Kids which was another great achievement. Everyone even got new uniforms and nice shoes for school! I am happy to let you know that, in spite of the difficulties we have faced this year, ALL of our kids were promoted to the next level, many at the top of their class!

The attack, 9 October 2022

In spite of all these amazing successes, our darkest challenge was still to come. On Sunday, October 9th, around midnight, 4 men attacked our precious kids while they slept in their tent. Two boys were kidnapped, and these men even tried to rape our girls. But God is so great, their mission failed because Mum was so vigilant and chased them away, helped by the village's LC team and police. Our boys were found and rescued 5 miles away from mum's home, and the girls were not violated. Cans of petrol oil were discovered next to the tent, presumably, the intention was to burn it down with the children inside. The police are still trying to find these criminals. It became urgent to safeguard the children from further potential attacks like this.

After hearing this news, our wonderful sponsors again rose to our aid and were there to quickly support our cause. We held another emergency campaign to construct an additional room onto Mum's little house, which now serves as our boys' dormitory. I am happy to let you know that it has been built, we have started using it, and our kids are now safe. We only need some funds now to finish it off by laying a floor, sealing the walls with plaster and paint, as well as getting better bedding for the boys.

Christmas 2022

As we head into the Christmas and holiday season, we are currently fundraising to provide the 32 Desire Kids with some gifts, clothes, and also support for nutritious foods and other essentials. We have planned to join all the family together in the countryside to spend Christmas together. We hope to arrive on the 23rd and return back to Kampala on the 2nd of January, so we are asking for one final push of support in 2022 to help make this happen. Our kids have been through so much this year, and deserve to have 9 happy carefree days together as one big, loving family.

Starting the new year strong

As we continue to strive toward self-sufficiency, the reality is that we will still require the kindness of sponsors to help us keep moving forward until we are able to build a stable foundation. We recognize the sacrifices it has taken for those who have brought us this far, and we can only assure you that we are doing all we can to keep our heads above water as economically as possible. Every contribution is spent immediately as it comes in.

Since we started fundraising just 4 months ago, we have achieved all of the above with nearly $6,200 in support, shared by 41 individuals from 8 countries! Some have been able to give more, others less. Many have given multiple times. One angel donor has singly contributed about $2,100 since August! And because of the combined efforts of 40 others as well, we have managed to survive this year. You are ALL angels to us! We truly could not have done it without each and every one of you.

We look forward to the day we no longer have to ask for help. You can lend support by pledging to help with a certain amount each month and sharing our story with others who may be interested in joining our circle of beloved sponsors for a time.

Here are our immediate and ongoing basic priorities for our 32 kids:

RENT: We still need support to pay the next 4 months of Kampala rent, required in full in advance, which was due January 1st. We are late, and the threat of homelessness is very real. $200/month = $800US

FOOD: $31.25 per child per month = $1,000US

MEDICAL: $10 per child per month = $320US

SCHOOL FEES: Next term is from the 6th of February to the 5th of May. Costs average out to $110 per student for 28 kids (including requirements) = $3,080US

Next phase

NGO STATUS: In the coming year, we will strive toward manifesting our big goal of achieving NGO (nonprofit) status, which will cost approximately $800US. This will really help us to grow our circle of sponsors, build trust, allow for tax-deductible donations, and it also will allow us to qualify for grants and loans to achieve our ultimate goal of an independent, holistic, arts and agriculture-based residential school in the countryside.

LAND PURCHASE: We also hope to launch our land campaign in 2023 to buy 4 acres (with titles), where we shall grow enough food for our kids and also build a residential school for them because we really need our kids to grow together in our home so this will be a great achievement. The cost will be approximately $7,000US per acre.

Again, on behalf of all our Desire Kids, my mum Nkiinzi Grace, and my sisters who are so helpful, thanks a lot from bottom of my heart. My mum is so happy because of your support and she really appreciates everything you do for our kids.

The Desire Family wishes you all a Happy, Healthy New Year, with much love and gratitude from Uganda, Africa.

In service,

Bugingo 'Desire' Moses Founder

Every child desires a loving family. Join ours. Help us transform the lives of orphaned and vulnerable kids. www.DesireChildCare.org