Kampingisi

22nd February

The night club down the road kept us all awake last night until 3.00 with loud music. But we were all up for breakfast at 7.30 and on the road to the prison by 9.00. Kampiringisa Youth Rehabilitation Centre is on the other side of Kampala, so it meant an interesting journey into the outskirts of the city, and then out again to the west. Traffic, noise, dust and road works were the order of the day, the streets were teeming with people and motor vehicles of all sorts. The main road out of Kampala was being rebuilt, and at times was no better than a dirt track.

Imagine a 2nd world war army camp; concrete buildings and metal framed windows. Now imagine how it would look today if it hadn't been touched since 1940; peeling paint, cracked or missing window panes, doors and windows hanging open. Add an all pervading stench of unwashed bodies, urine etc. and you might begin to imagine what greeted us as we drove up the road towards the prison. That and a hoard of small children running along side our bus, waving and smiling and shouting hello to us. We were mobbed when we got of the bus, children cuddling us, shaking our hands, wanting to be picked up, wanting to just stand and hold our hands; basically wanting some love.

80% of the children have not been convicted of a crime, they are mostly street children rounded up from Kampala, and dumped there because there is no where else for them to go, or some have been left there by there new step-mothers; unwanted step children are an all to common problem.

When they enter the prison the children are kept in isolation for a few days, and then moved to the 'Black Wing' where they are stripped naked and left in a dormitory without light for several weeks, day and night. This is designed to break them. They are allowed out when there are visitors, and given a trousers, but no shirts. Ages range from around 18 months to 16 years old. The older ones go out to work in the mornings, but the little ones are free to wander, there were no guards or other adults visible to supervise them.

We set up our clinic on the veranda of the school block. By school block I mean four empty rooms, each with a couple of desks and a few posters on the walls. Three of thew rooms were used by us, one to store clean instruments and equipment, one for post op and sterilisation, and one as a waiting area once the kids had been triaged. Five dental chairs were set up on the veranda,overlooking the central area where the kids played in the dust, and a couple of cows wandered around. 

The system works like this: the kids who need treatment are assessed and a note made of the main treatment need, then as each dentist is free the child is seen and treatment carried out. If it is and extraction then they are sent to post op until bleeding stops and they are given pain killers and antibiotics if needed. Actually the treatment need wasn't too great. We extracted several carious teeth, and filled a couple of small cavities with glass ionomer. I suppose if you have a diet without refined carbohydrates you don't get too many rotten teeth, chewing sugar cane is the main exception to this.

Today was a party day. Once a month Natalie organises a party day, and they have meat with their meal. We joined them and sat on the floor to eat rice, sweet potato and meat which we ate with our fingers. Well we had a couple of mouthfuls to be polite, and gave the rest to the kids.....nothing goes to waste.

We joined the kids for their party, singing songs and dancing to the beat of drums, they even let me join in !! We gave them balloons a football and blew lots of bubbles.

We get a very biased view, as today was very different to their normal day. Though conditions are very poor, we questioned that surely it had to be better than being on the streets with at least one meal a day and a roof (of sorts) over their heads. However on the streets they earn money, and that counts for a lot, and at least they don't get beaten and abused by the guards.

Sadly we weren't allowed to take photographs.

A well deserved meal on the way home. Would you believe it ......pizza, and it was as good as many a real Italian pizza, washed down by a couple of beers. Back to our accommodation at Mildmay, a long soak in the shower and bed.