Pay Michael's Salary for One Month

Teachers like Michael at Retrak's Tudabujja halfway home provide vital catch up education for children who have been living on the street and unable to attend school. This education facilitates children's reintegration abck in to communities and schools when they return home, and also provides vital skills for a sustainable future for the children.

One such child who has benefitted from Retrak's teachers is Peter.

Peter from Iganga aged 24 now, joined Retrak, then called Tigers club project in 2003 when he was in primary four. He came after being physically abused at home by a step mother. He said he could not stand the abuse and together with his friend came to Kampala. Life became hard on the streets which made him to start scavenging scrap but was not successful sometimes. “I started abusing drugs in order to avoid cold nights” says Peter.

While in the slums, of Kisenyi, some two children informed him that there is food at Tigers Club on every Friday of the week and he decided to join them. On reaching there, they were welcomed and given food and he was able to talk to the nurse since he had wounds. After, the social workers gave a brief outline of Tigers implementations such as counselling, catch up lessons, life skills education, feeding, refuge, medical/Treatment and Sports. He then decided to stay since there was refuge and the following day he attended the catch up lessons where he told the teacher that he wanted to go back to school but not home. After several sessions with Retrak staff and catch up lessons with Retrak's teacher, he was taken to Nakivubo Blue Primary school where he was enrolled in primary five in 2003.

When Retrak's home was relocated, he was  taken to Kampala City Council Busega Community primary school where he completed his primary Leaving Examination in 2005 and scored 13 aggregates. He then joined Mackey Senior Secondary School where he completed his Ordinary Level and he scored 2nd grade which made him join a vocational institute for a certificate course in cosmetology.

 Peter is now managing a saloon, where he earns approximately three hundred thousand (300,000) Uganda shillings (approx USD150) from hair dressing and he able to save fifty thousand (50,000) Uganda shilling which he intends to pay for his further education.

“Hair dressing has enabled me to acquire money to meet most of my family's domestic needs like school fees, medication, clothing, food and now I have been recruited as an examiner/Assessor of Uganda national hair dressing Institution in Uganda” says Peter.

Links:

• Retrak Home Page