St. Kizito Babies Home had a humble beginning in 1968. There was only one building that housed: babies and children’s dormitories, stores, bathrooms, clinking room, kitchen, offices, sickbay, admission room, etc. It was packed so full that sometimes the children and babies even shared beds.
However, the worst situation was that we had a firewood stove within one of the rooms that often emitted smoke. The smoke penetrated sleeping rooms and made the children uncomfortable and sick because of smoke inhalation. Unfortunately, this condition lasted many years, from 1968-2016. In the meantime, to seek resolution, the administration appealed to many individuals, organizations, businesses, and foundations to help fund a new kitchen detected from the main house.
A Visit from new friends
It was not until 2015 that I welcomed some now-friends visiting our home from Canada (Eric, Jimy, and Mary) to visit our home. During many conversations about the CCI, I shared our lack of a suitable kitchen for preparing the children’s and staff’s meals and the danger it will likely cause to their health.
Life Changing Gift
A few months after returning to Canada, I received a letter from them that they would fund the contribution of a new kitchen, a food store, and a dining hall. You can’t imagine the joy the management committee, the administration, and the staff expressed when they learned of the news.
It changed the life of everybody in the Home; The amount donated was USA $25,761.00 (UGX 71,619,000), a significant, generous, unexpected donation. Construction began that same year, completed in just a year in 2016. We now have a spacious, wood-saving kitchen, a dining hall, and three food stores because of donor support.
The occasion was colorful and memorable in the history of St.Kizito Babies Home. We are very grateful for the financial assistance donated by our friends and others.