Buyende, Uganda: A child-headed household in Buyende Trading Centre Zone is facing severe hunger, risk of disease, and possible abduction after their parents, including a mentally ill mother, allegedly disappeared eight months ago.
The family of three girls, led by 12-year-old Nangobi Mariam, is now surviving on mangoes in a dilapidated grass-thatched structure without access to education or adult care. Mariam and her younger sisters, aged 9 and 6, comb the neighborhood every morning to gather mangoes, which they rely on for both lunch and supper.
“Me and my young sisters, we wake up early every morning and we look for mangoes. Me, I climb and they collect,” said Mariam, appealing to well-wishers and NGOs for support to return to school.
According to neighbors, the children have been abandoned since the disappearance of their parents, with their lives severely threatened by starvation, disease, and exposure to harmful elements, especially during the rainy season.
“We give them leftovers because we also don’t have enough food,” said Juliet Nakayima, a neighbor. “They survive on mangoes because they don’t have food. Their parents disappeared eight months ago, and we also don’t know their whereabouts.”
The LC1 Chairman, Steven Mawerere, confirmed the children’s plight, noting that the mother reportedly suffers from mental illness and left behind more than seven children, some of whom have since dropped out of school and scattered in search of survival.
“Their mother, who was taking care of them, disappeared because of mental illness, but these children are at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases because no one is caring for them,” said Mawerere. He warned of the dangers of early marriage, pregnancy, and disease facing the abandoned children.
Community members expressed concern over the increasing number of abandoned children in the area and called on government and humanitarian actors to intervene before tragedy strikes.
“The girls are at risk of kidnapping, hunger has already attacked them, and their development is under threat. They need urgent support from the public and the government to help mold them into good citizens,” said one concerned resident.
When contacted by DailyExpress, Buyende RDC, Ms Betty Otekat Akello, condemned the abandonment and promised that investigations would commence immediately to bring the responsible parents to justice.
“Child neglect is on the rise in Buyende District, but as security, we are very soon starting patrols to arrest people who leave their children to starve, which is also leading to early marriage, school dropout, and child pregnancy in the district,” Akello said, promising an action into the matter.
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