I am Asonya Joseph . I am a 78 year old  man. I live in Kidongole village, Eastern Bukedea,Uganda with my wife and 13 children.

My story is of grief and deprivation. In my 78 years I have been a witness to the ups and downs of life.  When my first wife passed away many years ago, I remarried and God blessed me with a large family. Sadly, my sorrow renewed again when I also lost one of my daughters. Today I have 13 living children. The older children got married while the youngest ones are all school-aged and under my care. 

I had knee surgery ten years ago. Unfortunately, the operation wasn’t successful and the inserted metal brought me complications. I became unable to walk more than 2 meters without assistance. I had to retire from teaching. Because of this I am unable to earn a living for my family. My family tries to do simple activities to help to gain money. My wife sells some cooked cow head at home, and the older sons do home farming. Despite our efforts, the money is very little and after buying house essentials it is almost totally consumed. There is not even enough to secure school fees for the children. 

In addition to that, we live in an unsafe region with active rebel groups. This is a constant source of threats to our lives as they spread fear and threaten the sources of income in the region. 

The support we received from The Africa In Me was tremendously generous. It is great when someone whom you thought of as a stranger knocks on your door and offers you a hand.  I am very thankful they have donated us food and helped with school fees. I hope to receive some help to start a small business to help feed and sustain our family. God bless.