Ouni Editor
As part of the ongoing lead-up to the 2nd Coronation Anniversary of the Won Nyaci of Lango, Her Royal Highness the Agong me Lango, Margaret Odongo Okune, paid a charitable visit to Ngetta Babies Home in Lira City, delivering essential food and relief items to support abandoned and orphaned infants.
The donation which included 100 kilograms of rice, milk, soap, and sugar forms part of activities scheduled prior to the main celebration on November 2 at Lira Mayor’s Garden.
Ngetta Babies Home currently provides shelter, medical care, and rehabilitation for 37 orphaned and abandoned children.
Sister Demmy Frances, the Sister-in-Charge of the facility, revealed that the home serves children not only from the Lango sub-region, but also from neighboring Acholi and Bunyoro areas.
Sister Demmy highlighted that babes are normally abandoned in bushes, pit latrines, and trenches. Others come from mothers who are mentally ill, mothers who are currently incarcerated in prisons, or babies whose mothers died during or shortly after childbirth.
Despite their dedicated service, the administration of Ngetta Babies Home faces severe operational hurdles in maintaining proper healthcare and nutrition for the infants.
Sister Demmy noted that infants retrieved from pit latrines often have maggots entering bodily openings, leaving them suffering from chronic infections and severe pneumonia.
The facility lacks adequate human resources, specifically trained health workers to offer specialized medical care to critically ill infants.
In addition, the home struggles with lack of adequate financial and material resources to purchase essential dietary supplements required for infant recovery and growth.
According to Sister Demmy, follow-up assessments reveal troubling conditions for children reunited with families. She noted that some stepmothers mistreat these reunited children once they return home.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Agong me Lango Margaret Odongo Okune condemned the growing trend of child abandonment, describing it as a clear symptom of societal decay.
”Taking care of a child more so a motherless child takes a lot of courage and love. People do not know what the future holds for these young ones, but I believe they are our future leaders, engineers, entrepreneurs, and doctors,” she said.
Agong said that abandoning children is a sign of moral decadence because in the past, every member of the community felt responsible for raising and disciplining a child regardless of biological ties adding that people must learn to take responsibility for bringing up children positively so they become responsible citizens.
Agong emphasized that parenting requires tolerance.
”Once a girl makes a mistake and gets pregnant, parents must listen and be tolerant so that the victim does not commit suicide or abandon the child after giving birth,” she warned.
She asked cultural leaders to train young ladies during community outreaches to abstain from early sex, avoid early marriages, and practice responsible parenting adding that in worst-case scenarios, people must root for family planning for young girls, address alcohol abuse, and leverage positive cultural norms that protect the girl child.
Agong also raised concern over the high proportion of abandoned male infants at the center, noting the paradox where male children are highly sought after culturally, yet represent the majority of infants left behind at the facility.
Caroline Edonga, the Deputy Minister of Gender and Family Affairs for Tekwaro Lango, commended the staff at Ngetta Babies Home for their selfless service to innocent infants.
”I thank Ngetta Babies Home for prioritizing the welfare of innocent babies abandoned by their mothers. I urge you to continue with this hard work because this is a true calling and a devotion ordained by God to save children in vulnerable situations.” She said.
Proscovia Ayo, a member of the Agong Foundation and the Assistant Resident District Commissioner (ARDC) for Lira highlighted the socio-economic pressures driving young mothers to extreme actions saying many young girls are being raped or forced into difficult conditions with no one to support them.
