“[Growing up], I think I had passion for those who are less privileged. I had compassion for the young people who were traumatized. And I remember when I was younger, I told my mom, we need to bring in babies…So, I think it’s embedded in me.”
—Vivian Kityo
Wakisa Ministries
A crisis pregnancy center and maternal care clinic for teenage women
Meet the caregiver
Vivian Kityo is a nurse, a mother of two, and a lay leader in the Anglican church. As she recounts in the video, she was moved to create a space for teenage mothers, after seeing the tragic death of a young woman who attempted an unsafe abortion. She uses her existing medical knowledge, and her connections within the Church of Uganda (Anglican), and Evangelical organizations like Youth for Christ, to care for these women both pre- and post-pregnancy. She is also a passionate advocate for young women in Uganda more generally, who are too often victims of incest, sexual abuse, and stigma attached to early pregnancy.
The burdens of young women
Life for teenage women has changed a lot in Uganda in the past two generations. In the traditional rural agricultural system, women would marry young and leave their parents’ farm for that of their husbands’ family. As that way of life has faded, the new benchmarks of “acceptable” womanhood include attending formal school, seeking paid work, and delaying marriage and childbearing. Yet many young women also lack the resources, access, and support to succeed in these ways. Their families cannot afford good schools, and they are often left to scramble for income to meet their basic needs. Sometimes that means sex work; other times, it is romantic relationships with older men who can support them. In still more tragic cases, they are victims of incest or rape by men in their families and communities. When these situations end in pregnancy, the women can be rejected by their families, or they run away from home out of fear. These are the cases that Wakisa is dedicated to caring for.
The Wakisa way
Wakisa Ministries houses about 30 young women at a time, ranging in age from 12 to 18. Vivian and her staff arrange for them to receive prenatal services at a local hospital, and they bring nurses and trained counselors to the site for regular check-ups and mental health care. Her staff also teach them skills in cooking, sewing, making crafts—and of course, tending to infants. They work with the women to reconcile them to any living family members, sometimes traveling around the country to find relatives to support the mother and baby after delivery. They also address the effects of trauma on these women, addressing their emotional and spiritual needs through relational counseling and support.
Wakisa’s financial base is primarily donors from abroad, often friends Vivian Kityo made through her work in the church. Up until 2019, they were operating in a small plot close to the center of Kampala. Since then, Vivian has been able to purchase a larger piece of land outside the city. She is hoping to house even more young women there, and expand the facilities to include a birthing center. She also hopes to build more classrooms for technical training programs, so the women will leave with skills to start their own small businesses.
Vivian describes the vision of Wakisa Ministries in her own words:
When they come here, they don’t know what they’ll find…at my age, I’m just another mom, so some of them, they don’t really like us. They kind of reject us. When they see us giving them unconditional love, they are just like, ‘Wow, these people don’t judge us or condemn us. They are showing all the love.’ They’re kind of amazed, because they have never received it anywhere. The boys have used them. The parents are so angry. They have thrown them out. The community is judging them. And Wakisa ministries is different. It’s a safe haven, showing them unconditional love…here we take time to offer counseling. You hear their pain, their hurt, and at home, nobody’s doing that. So, they’re like, ‘okay these people care for us.’
To learn more and to support Wakisa Ministries, visit their website.