CHARITY THAT HELPS SINGLE MOTHERS IN UGANDA

With the increasing levels of poverty raising a family is becoming difficult, but even more difficult for the single mothers who are struggling to make ends meet. The more the world changes, the more difficulties Single mothers encounter. When you are a single mother in Uganda, you are likely to encounter more challenges than opportunities. This is because providing for a family in Uganda is something that always requires an assisting hand from a husband. We therefore believe that, for change to happen in the lives of these single mothers there is a need for a collective effort. All we need is to offer charity that helps single mothers in Uganda and other parts of the world.

Who is a single mother in Uganda?

Single mother in Uganda

 The definition for a single mother might vary in words and individual opinion. But the meaning remains the same – the woman/ mother who has a dependent child or dependent children. They are widowed, divorced, or unmarried. We may not necessarily consider the real reasons why women become single mothers. But most of the cases especially in Uganda, women do not decide to become single mothers.  They are pushed by situations and all that they can be is single mothers.

Some of these women are victims of teenage pregnancies, rape, divorce, child abuse, drug addiction, poverty, ignorance, lack of education, famine, natural calamities. Natural calamities include; landslides, Diseases like HIV/AIDS, wars, to mention but a few.

Many words can be used to describe a single mother in Uganda; hustler, hardworking, patient, loving, care-takers, kind, merciful, strong, persevering, to mention but a few. It is on such background that Love Uganda Foundation feels a need for more charity that helps single mothers in Uganda and other parts of the world.

The Uniqueness of a single mother in Uganda

Single motherhood in Uganda is even worse for the young girls who probably got pregnant at an earlier age and those divorced. The society considers them undisciplined people who don’t even know how to handle their lives in proper lines.
More heartbreaking, is finding a homeless single mother lying beside her kid on the streets of Kampala. Some are street vendors with small capital businesses, selling yellow bananas, and please if you find one of a type, kindly don’t bargain, she is just a single mom trying to better her child’s future. Just support her.

Now that is the life a single mother in Uganda goes through daily. The pain of having to hold back the tears just to make your kids strong because you are the pillar that is standing out for them. Being a doctor, a teacher, a nurse, a maid, a cook, a referee, a heroine, a provider, a defender and a protector at the same time.

Why single mothers need more charity than single fathers in Uganda?

It is not to say that it is all well on the side of single fathers in Uganda since they also have their challenges. But the truth is that there is more need for charity on the side of single mothers than it is on the side of single fathers in Uganda today.

For the single fathers have at least tried and maneuvered, their kids go to school and they can still afford to get something to eat in a day. In Uganda, it is always easier for a man to hustle than a woman since men are somewhat more energetic compared to women. Women stand high chances of being exposed to sexual violence and other forms of mistreatment during their hustles compared to men. It is easy for a single father to work at night, do more manual work and earn some bread for his family than it is for single mothers.

Most kids that have single fathers have lacked is the mother’s love and guidance. That is why in most cases these children have grown into hooligans of the city because men can be reluctant with children nurturing. They say, “As long as you have got what to eat and drink, I have paid school fees for you, the rest is in your hands. However, children do not just need food and school fees only but also guidance whilst they are growing.

And for the single mothers cut across levels of education and financial;

Single mothers are simple women that are left with the precious and challenging duty of raising her children alone. The fathers of the children deliberately abandon the children, and the wives are not left with any other option but to bravely take on the task of being the father and mother to their children.
Now the major concern is on the single mothers, whether divorced, widowed, or abandoned. Women being relatively weaker than the men, they cannot hold the burden of raising a family alone, they occasionally meet challenges that distract them and sometimes they even give up.

The woman referred to here, she stands alone to meet the needs of the family, yet she is poor. She struggles all her lifetime looking for both her survival and the family. If she was alone, it wouldn’t be that difficult, but she has a family that looks up to her every morning for daily survival. Every morning her kids say “Mummy we need more food on our plate, we need more drinking chocolate or toys to play with like others kids in their communities.” For every mother, it is difficult to tell her child that there is no enough money to buy A, B, C and D. They always want to prove that they can provide everything which is always difficult. This is why some single mothers resort to prostitution, drug abuse and stealing some times.

Why it is bad!

It is so saddening that no needle has been touched yet to see that even the poor women victimized in single motherhood live just lives. The world has given a deaf ear and a blind eye to their cries, they are simply going through a lot on their own.
Poor woman, she is unemployed, or employed but earning less, yet she has many responsibilities. She daily buys the food, clothes and sponsors her children to school. This is such a heavy burden for a poor woman to carry, she simply just can’t manage and that’s how her family ends up lacking the life’s basic needs.

Indeed they are the true supper women and they need our support. We need to be the first to end this sort of extreme poverty, where in the world of plenty, women and their children are dying because of empty stomachs.

What challenges do single mothers in Uganda face?

Single mothers in Africa

When you pay close attention to the life of single mothers in Uganda. You realize that there is more need for charity that helps these single mothers. They go through is a life that a normal human being wouldn’t wish to see their sister or brother go through. They face a number of challenges some of which affect them physically, others affect them psychologically and emotionally. The beauty about these souls is that they are willing to do whatever it takes for their families to have food on the table the next day.

We say that there is more need for charity that helps single mothers. We intend to direct our efforts in solving the problems / challenges that these single mothers face in their day to day lives. These challenges include among others but no limited to the following;

1. Difficulties in maintaining a smooth work life balance

It is very difficult for a single mother have a balanced work life since they are ever busy looking for bread for their families. They are forced to work extra hours and do extra work. They wake up early to sweep the roads, clean building, cook, wash laundry and dig. Literally, single mothers have no time for themselves. There is no time to for them to rejuvenate, have fun and refresh their bodies. Charity which can help the single mothers overcome such obstacles is all that we need. With it, the world can be made a better place to be for them.

2. The experience of emotional struggles

Single mothers in Uganda usually find emotional problems because they always live in solitude. They live in an environment that perceives them as losers, a society that blames them, etc.  Single mothers have no partners to share their good and bad moments with. They lack someone to remind them of their strengths, someone to encourage them remind them that life is worth celebrating. Such environments cause emotional scars on the side of single mothers. It is on such reasons that some of the single mothers resort to drug abuse, alcoholism and prostitution.

3. The pressure that comes with decision making

There are fundamental decisions in life that always demand a collective effort of father and a mother. When such decisions knock on a single mother’s door, they become a big problem / challenge. Some of these challenges have a direct impact to children and may become a life time problem in their lives. This is one of the biggest challenges faced by single mothers in Uganda today. It calls for charity that helps single mothers as well.

4. The problem of not having enough financial support

Feelings of guilt and shame usually attack these single mothers when they realize that they cannot provide for their families. They feel guilty of being financially incapacitated and start blaming themselves as though they are the logic behind their poverty. This make them develop hatred for what they are doing and get discouraged to make new beginnings. This is why we need not just charity but charity that helps single mothers.

Are you a single mother facing any of these challenges? This is what you need to know;

• It is not your fault that you are a single mother
• Do not care much about what your society considers you to be, you are the future of your kids.
• Turn your fears into prayers and God will see you through
• Surround yourself with people are positive in life – have no room for negative energy
• Where you cannot do the best just do the better because that is all you can afford
• Embrace new friends and hold on to the old ones
• Accept help when offered
• Do not rush into a relationship, let your decisions be rational in nature.
• You do not owe any one an explanation of why you are a single mother, only explain when you wish to
• It is okay not to be okay, sometimes things will not go as you wish but do not give up

How can you exercise charity that helps single mothers in Uganda?

Charity that helps single mothers can be exercised in many different forms. Love Uganda Foundation has tested some of the effective and easy ways of exercising charity that helps single mothers. These methods are not only applicable to single mothers in Uganda but also other parts of the world.

Charity for single mothers in Uganda

We can exercise charity that helps single mother through;

• Encouraging them to find communities that support them.

  You can be part of the Love Uganda Foundation team that supports single mothers Through connecting them to others who share a common problem and a common goal in Life. Sometime all that single mothers need is someone they can talk to, someone that can understand their story, etc. The best person to find a solution to a certain problem is the person who went through the same problem.

• Help them build a strong support system.

  Single mothers in Uganda need to be strongly rooted in a supportive system. The system will be able to hold them while they thrive through life hardships. You can help us in encouraging these mothers.  Remind them that “Admitting that you need help shows your strength but not your weakness.” You can teach them to change their attitudes and start relating with family members, friends and relative.

• Sponsor their children.

  Actions speak louder than words! Sometimes we need to practically help single mothers overcome their problems by providing financial support to their children. You can do them shopping, pay school fees, visit them while they are at school, mentor them, etc. This will help mothers reduce on the burden on their shoulders.

• Become a voice of the voiceless. 

  Single mothers are faced with challenges of relatives who want to take their property. They are taken advantage of since they usually do not have money to go through courts of law for justice. All they do is give up. They end up giving in their land tittles, houses, cars, to mention but a few. You can help them in the courts of law and support them in defending their properties.

Now that you  are everywhere you need to be to offer charity that helps single mothers in Uganda, donate to a single mother here