14 Year Old Boy Abandoned In Idp, Struggles To Survive

Dumped and abandoned by his parents, A 14-year-old boy is struggling with life in an IDP in Muhokya without adult supervision.

This is the home of Mumbere Lodrick, a 14-year-old boy who was abandoned and left in an internally displaced people camp in Muhokya by his parents after being displaced by the river Nyamwamba floods in 2020. 

This house belongs to his father, who left him at the age of 12 years and went with another woman after his mother divorced. Now Lodrick is facing a lot of challenges as a result of domestic violence which occurred between his parents. 

Today, Jerad Tumusiime tells a heartbreaking story of a 14-year-old boy who is struggling to survive alone in the Internally Displaced People’s camp in Muhokya following a domestic-related separation of the parents.

Mumbere Lodrick, a domestic violence victim, was left to fend for himself in the dilapidated structure of his father's after his parents separated and eventually abandoned him. 

Lodrick was just 12 years old when his father left the family following a bitter fallout with his mother, who later divorced him. 

But despite being abandoned by his parents, Lodrick goes through a lot of challenges, and the memories of what he has gone through bring tears to his eyes and the eyes of other people.

Cases of children being abandoned due to domestic violence have seemed to be challenging, causing a rise in child-headed families.

The father went on to start a new life with another woman in Bunyangabu District, leaving Lodrick behind in the IDP camp.

Now 14, Lodrick lives without adult supervision, surviving on casual labour within the camp and neighbouring communities. He goes around the camp asking for small jobs, including working in people’s gardens, to raise money for food and school fees.

Despite the traumatic experiences and abandonment, Lodrick remains hopeful about the future. However, the challenges he endures, loneliness, poverty, and the emotional scars of family breakdown, continue to take a toll on him.

According to Masika Janeva, 67-year-old, a grandmother to Lodrick, he has done so many types of jobs, he has gone around the IDP camp to ask for casual workers to get school fees.

Janevah said her life is continuously becoming hard for her because of Lodrick and her son, who is seriously sick with stomach disease

She added that despite all the challenges Lodrick goes through, he plans to continue with his students, and she called on the government to come to his rescue.

The camp Chairperson, Rehemah Namale, praised the boy’s resilience and determination. She confirmed that Lodrick works tirelessly, especially in times when the Office of the Prime Minister fails to provide food to the IDP camp.

Rehemah attributes challenges like those of Lodrick and many others to the prolonged stay in the IDP.

According to Fr. Nyesio Mbusa, the director of Caritas Kasese, Caritas has been providing support to internally displaced people, including food and nonfood items, but it's not enough. He called on the government to speed up the process of relocating them to a safe place.

Kasese District LC5 Chairperson Eriphaz Muhindi acknowledged the dire situation and assured that plans are underway to resettle the displaced families. He urged patience as the government finalises the resettlement process.

Mumbere Lodrick is struggling to survive alone in the Internally Displaced People’s camp in Muhokya, and he is not alone; there are seven other children headed by families in the same camp following a domestic-related separation of the parents, according to Rehemah Namale, Camp chairperson.