March 2016, Florentina and Nicki were still in Uganda and met Cyrus – a young boy who’s situation was extremely heartbreaking.
Celsus Sente – a lecturer at Makerere University in Kampala and now also a part of Kale Nyabo, introduced us to Daphine and Phiona. These two beautiful ladies founded and run a charity organization called: Save an African Child (SAAC). When we arrived at the office – a space not bigger than 20 square meters, we found a group of 15-20 children doing their homework. Daphine and Phiona explained to us what SAAC stands for, when, how and why it was founded. They told us that their slogan is ‘Saved to Save’ – both of them lost their parents early on in their lives and were raised and supported by other members of the family and found a common passion for saving orphans.
Their were telling us the stories of these children, but one story we will never forget..
Cyrus – a very shy boy, constantly looking down and barely talking. His mother poisoned him and his 3 brothers when he was only 2 years old, in her desperate attempt to punish her abusive husband. The 2 younger brothers died, only Cyrus and his older brother were strong enough and survived. Their dad had a breakdown and their mom ran away, being chased by the police for her devastating actions. Cyrus has been struggling on his own ever since, being passed from one relative to another, living in very poor conditions. He was an extreme introvert when we met him, but his rough childhood did not offer him any chance of being anything other than that.
Even though Kale Nyabo did not exist at that time, his story remained in our heads and was one of the reasons we decided later on to try to make a difference for him and other children like Cyrus..
