“THIS BABY IS CURSED. HE WILL BRING BAD LUCK TO OUR FAMILY. HE MUST BE LEFT TO DIE.�
These are the words that were spoken over Lutalo Kisakye on the day he was born. His mother, Gloria, had been sexually assaulted by her own father as a teenager and had become pregnant as a result of that abuse. Gloria's stepmother refused to side against her husband and was certain that Gloria was to blame. As soon as Lutalo was born his stepgrandmother pronounced him cursed and said that to keep him in the house would bring bad luck. She pressured Gloria to throw Lutalo out onto the streets of Kitale, their Kenyan town, saying that he would be better off dead.
00 10
11
As soon as Lutalo was born his step-grandmother pronounced him cursed and said that to keep him in the house would bring bad luck… he would be better off dead. Although he was the result of a horrible act, Gloria still loved Lutalo and couldn’t bring herself to abandon him. However, she was terrified of being cast out of the house and left to provide for herself: she was still only 17. So when Lutalo was just five days old, Gloria took him to the local police station and begged them to find somewhere for him to live. They agreed and took Lutalo to a nearby orphanage, fairly certain that he wouldn’t live out the week – Gloria’s family had prevented her from breastfeeding him, leaving Lutalo dangerously weak. Remarkably, the staff at the orphanage were able to nurse Lutalo back to full health, and it didn’t take long for them to discover who his mother was and where she was living. They wanted to help her take care of Lutalo again, so they offered her a place on a hairdressing course they were running. Gloria felt a burst of confidence after the training and was desperate to get away from
00 12
her father and stepmother. So when she heard from a friend in Uganda, just over the border, that there were job opportunities there, she decided to take Lutalo and make a fresh start in Kampala. However, when they arrived in the city things were not as bright as Gloria had hoped. She struggled to find a steady job, only picking up
Gloria said she wasn’t fit to be Lutalo’s mother; that she couldn’t provide for him and she wanted him to have a ‘proper’ family. occasional shifts at a small hairdressing salon, and she could barely afford the rent on the tiny room that she and Lutalo, now two years old, shared. Gloria quickly became disheartened and sought
“He is a blessing. All my children are a blessing to me.”
solace in the company of a local mechanic who seemed friendly.Yet when she fell pregnant he didn’t want anything more to do with her, and he soon disappeared, leaving her with the prospect of yet another hungry mouth to feed. Close to giving birth to her second child and feeling that she had no other option, Gloria found a children’s home in the neighbouring district and asked that they take Lutalo, now three years old, and find someone to adopt him. She said she wasn’t fit to be his mother; that she couldn’t provide for him and she wanted him to have a ‘proper’ family. The project saw that it was desperation that was leading Gloria to give up her son, not a lack of love. So they told her they would care for Lutalo temporarily while she got back on her feet; they told her they were part of a city-wide network, in which many different organisations and churches were involved, and that together they would help her. And they were as good as their word.
Gloria with her new husband, their daughter Beatrice and her sons Mwanye and Lutalo (right)
Through the Kampala network Gloria was able to receive a loan to buy her own salon equipment and pay the first two months’ rent on a small shop. This helped her to keep her head above water while her business began turning a profit. Someone from a church in the network also introduced Gloria to a savings club in her neighbourhood, a group of local people in similar situations who joined together to keep each other accountable for their use of money. Gloria now saves 20,000 shillings
(about £5) every week for her children’s futures. Earlier this year, at the age of seven, Lutalo was able to begin living with Gloria and his half-brother again. The network gave the family a home start-up pack that included a mattress, some bed sheets and a mosquito net. Lutalo has also been able to start school for the first time, as the children’s home where he used to live now pays for him to attend a primary school near Gloria’s work. He has a new little
Earlier this year Lutalo was able to begin living with Gloria and his half-brother again
sister too: Gloria recently got married, to a kind and gentle man who knows all about Lutalo’s history and welcomes him with open arms, and he and Gloria have had a baby girl together.
Gloria’s family were certain that bad luck would surround him, yet Lutalo is now a bright and happy eight-year-old in a loving, stable home. In fact, thanks to the Kampala network, Gloria considers Lutalo to be the very opposite of the ‘curse’ his step-grandmother once labelled him: “He is a blessing. All my children are a blessing to me.”
13