Utterly devastated: an absolute tragedy

As a parent or family member, a school teacher or sports coach ... can you imagine your worst nightmare? Perhaps it is this one: seeing your child go off to school in the morning only to find out a few hours later that she had been brutally violated and murdered, her body thrown in a water filled ditch not far from the school she was walking to.

Warning: graphic content in the below slideshow: 9 year-old school girl raped and murdered on way to school

9 year-old school girl raped and murdered on way to school

9 year-old school girl raped and murdered on way to school

9 year-old school girl raped and murdered on way to school

I arrived for my second visit to Kakuuto, only a week after this tragedy. The Kakuuto Christian Primary school was understandably still in great shock and grieving for one of their own. And understandably, this tragedy has deeply traumatised me. There is a lot of need in Uganda, and we have seen so much change and hope through the projects and funds we have injected into this community; but without a doubt, I am determined that this tragedy will never happen again. It is very likely that the girl would have been one of the 500 children who greeted me with wonderful smiles and great respect when I visited the same school in 2015.

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Children walking to school, often for great distances, is a common sight in Africa. But now parents are terrified and will not send their children to school. This school has a growing reputation for excellence and it would be a disaster if this tragedy was to taint the schools reputation.

Together, we can make a difference. So I am appealing to you to help buy a school bus. It is not a brand new one, (as you can see it has several ripped seats), but it will serve the purpose of keeping these beautiful children safe.

Every dollar donated will go to the "Buy the Bus Project" and pay for the purchase of diesel to run it for 6 months.

PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!! (the person/people responsible have not yet been caught). Small and large donations will help - TOGETHER we can make a difference!

You can donate by direct credit or paypal here: www.makemynamecount.org/donate​

Or you can donate by givealittle here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/hope-amongst-tragedy-help-us-buy-a-school-bus