EDGES

AROUND THE WORLD

Robinah Mukasa recently made contact with Edges Magazine.
At the moment we are researching into her request for help..

Dear friend

It is a pleasure to write you this letter in which I'm informing you about the sad news that affected us. You may be surprised to receive this letter because you don't know me, and I don't know you. But I have no alternative but to introduce myself to you.

I'm a girl of 17 yrs, I stay with my uncle, my two sisters and my brother. We have no mother and father. Our mother died and she left us with our father who was also killed in the war by the rebels in the northern part of our country. We now stay with our uncle. However for six months now our uncle has been bed-ridden suffering from AIDS disease. Ever since our father's death, we are suffering terribly. We lack parental care. We are no longer attending school. Our uncle can't help us with school fees because he has a large family of five children. But his children attend school and dresses them well. We don't attend school and we have only two clothes each. Our work at home is to graze goats from morning to evening. At home we are badly treated by the wife of our uncle who doesn't recognise us as human beings. She beats my brother and my sisters to hell and insults us ever.

I being 17yrs now, looking forward to get 18yrs so that I can look around for a man to marry at least and be saved from these problems. But my main worry is my younger brother who is 11/2yrs and my sisters. I feel I can't leave them alone. We remained four and we should stick together four. Yet we don't hope our uncle to be alright again. It is very bad to lose your parents when you are still very young. I'm worried because my sisters and myself we haven't completed our studies. We were dismissed from school due to lack of school fees. My two sisters need 400,000shs and myself I need 200,000 Uganda shillings. This is for a full year to go back to school and study.

Dear friend I ask you to help us with some money from school fees and some money for buying clothes. We shall always remain endebted on your part for your kindness. Other wise I would like you to forgive me because I feel I'm bothering you. You may not be dealing with problems similar to ours. However I only hope that you can be only ones to help us directly or indirectly through getting in contact with those to help us through difficulties. I thank you very much.

Obidiently yours,

ROBINAH-MUKASA