Meet Loru

Loru is 21 and lives with his single mother and two sisters in Kokorio, Karamoja, north eastern Uganda. Here, endemic poverty puts children at risk of abuse, trafficking, neglect and exploitation.

Children on the Edge work with communities in the Napak district of Karamoja to help transform them into safer spaces where children are protected from harm and are able to thrive. 

The hot, desert-like area is one of the poorest districts in Uganda, with infertile soil leading to famine. Children often run away from home because they are hungry.

LORU'S STORY

​​​Loru never had the chance to go to school and survived by cattle rustling. When this became more violent, he concentrated on hunting wild animals to take care of his family, but struggled to make enough money. 

When Loru attended a Children on the Edge community workshop in his village, things changed. Here, people were encouraged to create vegetable gardens. Loru then attended a demonstration of sack gardening methods and immediately started growing vegetables. He now not only grows vegetables but sells them at the market, earning enough money to sustain himself and his family. 

He can now pay his sister’s school fees and buy food and clothes. From being a part of one of the major problems communities face in this area - cattle rustling - Loru is now not only part of the solution, but thriving from it. 

Make a donation today and help support more people like Loru to create sustainable livelihoods and support their families.