I am the only Granite in the Whole Universe by Mercy (14)

Mercy, creating a future for humanity in clay

In life, everyone has their dreams and passions.  A dream that you deeply want and love to do is a passion.  But on my side I don’t have dreams.  I have stopped dreaming – I am building my passions.  I’m not like any other people, I’m the only one of my kind.  I am the only granite in the whole universe, here to change in the most difficult ways and I use things which people see of less use.

My passions are to create opportunities for disadvantaged children and youth, change the direction of the earth’s movement and make things change my way and start a company dealing with creativity in art (acting, international dance, art and fashion) for children and youth in Africa.

DO THINGS YOUR WAY, NOT THE WAY PEOPLE WANT YOU TO DO THEM, YOU DON’T HAVE PROBLEMS, YOU HAVE CHANCES – USE THEM TO CHANGE THE WORLD.

HOPE, HOLD ON AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.  DO NOT WAIT FOR PEOPLE TO TELL YOU TO START OR DISCOURAGE YOU.  DON’T RAISE YOUR EXPECTATIONS ON GOOD VIEWS FROM PEOPLE BUT TAKE CHANCES FOR WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT!!!

Food variety is important for children, even though they live in poverty by Samuel (16)

My name is Lubangakene Samuel and I am one of the Butterfly Pioneer group members.  I have a passion for and ability in art and athletics, especially swimming and running and I like to use this passion to create positive change in my community and the world at large and this led to me starting up a project which we have called the “Posho and Beans Campaign”.

The main objective for this project has been to try to encourage change in school meals and give children the chance to try different types of food, e.g. Chinese, Japanese and Indian food.  And we also want to prevent diseases of malnutrition through children having a balanced diet.

The project has had some success and I was able to bring about changed meals in my current school.  I was even able to help children from the slum try other types of food, especially Chinese food, cooked by me and another member of the project.

I have also been using art to support the project and the plan for the project is to produce calendars, which will be sold and will help publicise the need for food variety in schools.  I plan to use the money from sales for a new project, which is about computer training and Play Station.

Most children in Uganda play fighting or sport games on the computer, but I am going to show them creative and puzzle games, which will help children to improve on their thinking and problem-solving skills.  We have just started this in the last week.

We are Living in a Dot Com Generation – Manisuli (16)

Manisuli – shaping his future world in clay

My name is Manisuli Miyingo and I am a member of the Butterfly Project Pioneer Group.  My passion lies in ICT training and this has helped me create positive change in my area.

I train young disadvantaged children how to use a computer, most especially the Microsoft Windows Operating System and I also give them experience of working with other networks, such as the internet.

Now many of them know how to use Microsoft Office and they can now type, as fast as they can write and some of them even teach their fellows what they learnt from me.

Because my passion lies in ICT, I want to extend my project into other remote areas of Uganda, like Rakai, where children don’t even dream of having access to a computer.  We are living in a dot com generation, so it is important that as many young people as possible are given the opportunity to learn how to use a computer and I love to see new young disadvantaged children have this chance get access to computers.

Joel (15) – My Current Life History and Problems in Namokora, Kalabong

Joel in Kireka near the Chrysalis Centre, May 2013

Since my father passed away, we the family have not had proper cares.  One of my late father’s brothers happened to snatch my father’s carpentry tools for himself, not thinking of our wellbeing as children of the late.

My mother is undergoing several problems like heavy labour in the garden and works for people to get money in order to feed us.  Some days she can get 1,500sh (40p) a day from working in people’s gardens and also at the same time have to cultivate for feeding us.  This makes her vulnerable to illness, because of hard work.

On the other hand, my uncle is not allowing our mother to cultivate on the land we own from the village and sometimes he goes up to the garden and chases my mother away.  My mother tried to exert her rights but she was unable to promote the issue to the authority because of a financial problem.  She tried with the clan just during last term school days and we (me and my brother) did not attend because we were at school.

The man could not even help us buy school requirements or help with cultivation, even though he had cattle for ox-ploughing.

My mother is too poor to pay for medical services for eight children, including three children of my sister, who was divorced from her husband and with her land denied to her, she cannot raise more money.

So, what should I do to try to solve these problems?

Joel has been a member of the Butterfly Project since 2011 and is a strong advocate for children’s and human rights.