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Dorothy Anena Otika, through her work with the Latigi Orphan Care Center, has made Books of Hope possible. Without her, we would still be struggling to establish ongoing relationships with schools in and around Gulu, Uganda. Please read more about Dorothy's inspiring story below. If you would like to make a donation to directly support the Latigi Orphan Care Center and Dorothy Anena Otika, please send a check made out to Books of Hope with a letter indicating how the donation should be used to the following address: Books of Hope The Latigi Orphan Care Center was founded by an extraordinary Acholi woman named Dorothy Anena Otika. Latigi is our partner organization in Uganda; by helping support Dorothy in her work, we can accomplish much more for the children of Gulu than we could by ourselves. Among other things, Dorothy connected us with all of the schools in and around Gulu that we have sponsored to date.
Dorothy is herself a survivor of the war. Almost twenty years ago, Dorothy's brother was abducted while biking home and was later discovered brutally murdered on the side of the road. A few years later, her family was driven from their land by the LRA rebels, and they were all forced to flee in the middle of the night.
Dorothy made the journey to Kampala on foot and by bus (when she could hitch a ride) as a teenager and lived there for several years before returning to Gulu to help other families affected by the war. She then founded the Latigi Orphan Care Center, named after her grandmother.
Her family now lives in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp because it's too dangerous for them to return to their land. Dorothy often works without pay to help the children who flock to the Latigi Orphan Care Center, despite the fact that she has four of her own children to feed and put through school by herself. Since then, Dorothy has sought out educational opportunities (particularly management and computer skills) so that she could be more effective in her work.
The Latigi Orphan Care Center is essentially a neighborhood center located in Gulu that's open to any child who needs help. Children often walk a dozen or more kilometers from rural villages to seek out Dorothy's assistance. She does her best to help them find money to pay for their school fees, uniforms, scholastic materials, health care, clothing and food. Many of the children are now at the head of their households and have no way of supporting their families.
During the summer of 2007, Books of Hope staff sent a series of email messages out to organizations that work in Gulu, seeking out partners who could help us connect with schools in Gulu. Dorothy was the only one who responded. And not only did she respond, but as we later learned, she traveled dozens of kilometers, often by foot, to the most remote, neglected schools in order to collect the information we needed to initiate our school sponsorship system. When we visit Gulu each year, Dorothy acts as our guide and our host. It's clear that the staff and students at all of the schools we visit both respect and love her.
As you can see from the photos, the Center is a small, dark two room office space. As our partner organization, Books of Hope assists Latigi by supplementing its rental costs, monthly electricity bill, and Dorothy's transportation expenses out to our sponsored schools. We're also trying to help pay Dorothy a living wage (even $100 a month in Gulu makes an enormous difference), help supplement her children's school tuition, and provide Dorothy (an exceptionally capable woman) additional training opportunities.
Dorothy has a powerful vision for the future of the Latigi Orphan Care Center, but, frankly, as a poor woman, she has struggled to establish credibility with local officials. Our goal through Books of Hope is to help Dorothy demonstrate that she can bring in much needed resources to the children of Gulu. This will help her gain the respect of the decision makers and funders in Gulu and make her even more effective. We would welcome any donations towards helping Dorothy continue her important work. |
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