Teenager ‘adopts’ Luwero School
December 11, 2019
77, NEW VISION, January 26, 2022
By Mathias Mazinga
O ne of the big challenges Uganda is facing is the ever-increasing gap between the privileged and the less privileged. This unpleasant social disparity has been made worse by unprecedented individualism, which has eroded the traditional virtues of charity, compassion and concern for others.
However, even with the growing sub-culture of individualism there are still people who are mindful of the needs of others, Even more interestingly, many of these champions of charity are young people!
A typical example of todays generation of humanity-focused young people is Darren Harry Baine, the chief executive officer of Kuzire Group and president of Ever Elm Foundation. The student at Waterloo University, Canada has committed himself to fighting inequality, to which he attributes rampant crime and socio-economic irregularities.
Together with his colleagues, including Rachael Nduhukire (Ever Elm vice president and head of programs); Ashley Birungi (Kuzire Group’s public relations officer); Masiko Niwagaba (Kuzire Group’s chief operations officer) and Rene Baine (volunteer); Baine has put it to himself to reach out to the disadvantaged children, give them hope and put a smile on their faces.
Recently, as many Ugandans were planning to have a big Christmas feast, Baine and his colleagues were making plans to visit and donate to Naguru Remand Home (a juvenile prison).
Nduhukire said they opted for Naguru Remand Home because:
“We believe that the children at Naguru Remand Home were not born as criminals. They were good and innocent, just like the other children. They just became mischievous because of the circumstances in which they live. Probably they were sidelined by society, or they were mistreated by their parents, relatives or guardians.”
“So, our thinking is that these young people are not criminals. They just committed criminal offences because of circumstances. It is important to attend to their mental, physical, psychological, and intellectual needs. Rehabilitating and reintegrating the juvenile criminals into society can be a catalyst for peace and development. But during this process, these young people should be helped to know that they are not outcasts, that there are people out there who love them. Therefore, we felt it right to give them a Christmas package."
