Stories From the Field

Hard Times and Bright Spots

One community leader admitted to Daniel that he had originally been skeptical about the possible benefits of the grandparent story-telling project, but now he  has noticed that the children participating in Better World 4 Kids are applying the lessons they have learned from the stories. 

School Holiday Challenges Better World 4 Kids Program Capacity

The two different groups of children connected with each other, discussing the stories, playing foot ball, and making friends.  Some of the Better World 4 Kids children began to feel more comfortable with the idea of going to school in the fall now that they knew some children there.

Isaac’s Story

Isaac Makes a Wise Decision: when the next school term begins, he will ask his father to pay the fees so that he can go to school here in Nakivale where he belongs. It was a journey that started with fear and had many struggles. Now, Isaac feels part of […]

Surprising lows and highs in a week

As rewarding as working with the children and grandparents can be, it is not an easy undertaking.  Many – most – of the children have suffered trauma, and so have nearly all of the adults in their world.  Wars, pandemics, climate-induced dislocations all have played a part in creating the […]

NEXT STEPS

Their lives are full of meaning.

Getting Ready

As the grandparents shared their stories with the Better World for Kids staff, it became clear that some of the stories were best for the very young children, and many excellent stories would be better used only for the older ones.

ORIENTATION DAY

All the grandparents needed to do was tell their stories and talk with the children afterwards.

Meet Patience, a young teen

Patience wishes to be a teacher after completing her studies and she will want to teach children affected by war, just like she and other children are right now. 

I love the stories

I am happy that I am attending the story telling sessions that  engage and teach us to be patient, to love each other, listen to parents and elders, help one another and cooperate in the group, community and at home.

Samie’s Story

I am welcome at Better World 4 Kids.  I enjoy the stories shared by our teachers at the center.  I have fun playing games like skipping rope and racing games with my new friends, who are able to love me the way I am.  I feel safe and happy again. […]

Princess wants to play guitar

It would be good to involve all the children in the village in this program because it has helped overcome grief and pain. Now that schools have started, it is also good to provide books, pens, provide uniforms for the learners and also organise games with other groups from the […]

I can help my parents

Be Content

 BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE   Story shared by PRINCE NTIHEMUKA, 2/11/2021  A long time ago there was a great fisherman known throughout the land. One day he caught a beautiful golden fish. The golden fish begged him not to take its life, and the fisherman took pity on it […]

The Grandfather’s Story

Mukisa spends most of his time at home alone.  He missed his wife who was killed by the soldiers and he missed his old life in the village. He really didn’t feel at all well. He heard about the BETTER WORD FOR KIDS program, and decided to see what it […]

First Day on the Job

This project is a whole new concept to me, and I have never done this before!  I have a strong positive feeling about  having the grandparents share traditional stories and riddles with the children.   Many children here at Nakivale Base Camp are traumatized, and the closure of schools due to […]

The New Motorbike

Thanks to Focusing Initiatives, we were able to purchase a brand new heavy-duty motorbike for the BW4KIDS project. We can travel a more direct route over trails that the taxi cannot navigate.  Now the two of us take only an hour to reach our destination, which means we have more […]

A Better World for Mugisha Joseph

When covid-19 closed the Kashozo Secondary School at the Nakivale Refugee Settlement, 16-year-old Mugisha Joseph began to have troubles. He had been attending the school for two years, and his days had been busy so that he came home afterwards tired and ready for sleep.  But when the school closed, […]

THE LITTLE GIRL IN THE FOREST

Story Shared by MUKAKABONA JACQUELINE, November 2, 2021 In the certain village there was a woman who had two children. The father of the children had died some while back when a famine started.  Having nothing to eat, the widow decided to move her family through the forest to a […]

STUDYING IS RICH

Story shared on 1/12/2021 by Kanayangoga Claude  Bitwayeko lived in Nakivale with his wife and one son, who was called Munyabibazo.  One day Bitwayeko told his son, “My son, other children are about to complete their studies, but you don’t want to go back and study.”  And  Munyabibazo replied,  “Father, […]

THE LONELY ANIMAL

A long time ago there was a family living alone in the middle of a forest. There were two children, a boy called Baba and sister whose name was Nyasha.  After some time both parents died and the two children went looking for a place they could live in another […]

Mercy

A long time ago there was a family that had three children: One boy, Byago and his two sisters, Karirekinyana, and Nkorogoto Zivanyanza. Unfortunately, their mother died unexpectedly, and the father was forced to marry another woman to take care of the home. In time, they had a daughter together, […]

RABBIT’S TRICKS

Once upon a time famine (amapfa) fell in a certain village, and all the animals suffered from starvation.  But the Rabbit seemed to have been hit hardest by the calamity.  So, the Rabbit decided to leave that village for another in search of food. Along the way he became hungrier […]