Yesterday, we met Kabirigi. He’s over 100 years old and he lives alone in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. For refugees like him, an already hard life can be even harder. His neighbors help him out in ways that they can, but there are some things they can’t provide.
That’s where Freddie comes in. Freddie has worked in Community Services for ARC meaning that he knows the community in and out. He has a big heart, a neighborly spirit and a lot of ideas to make change in the lives of the people he knows. Today, he’s doing the doable.
After providing lights to several elderly refugees, Freddie thought we could do just a little more. “It is hard for an elderly person to be sleeping on the cement floor. He would be much more comfortable sleeping on a mattress,” says Freddie.
So, with just $500, we took to the nearby town to see how many mattresses we could purchase. They were loaded up and driven to Nakivale where we hand delivered each mattress.
At Kabirigi’s home, his neighbors gathered around to see what was happening. Their smiles, exclamations and applause showed how happy they were to see that their neighbor was getting a soft place to sleep.
“There were times I would wake up and feel pain,” explained Kabirigi. Thanks to Freddie’s idea, refugees like Kabirigi will finally be able to get a good night’s sleep.
