In a small, sunbaked village called Hoima in rural Uganda, four-year-old Joy wakes up to the sound of her grandmother’s cough. Mama Nia, 72, rises before dawn to fetch water from the distant borehole, her bones aching with every step. Joy clutches her empty bowl, her belly growling. Breakfast is a hope, not a promise.

The Harsh Reality

Poor Parents: Joy’s mother left Joy with her grandmother as early as 1year; her father left to find work and never returned.

One Meal a Day: Mama Nia’s frail hands dig for wild greens when their maize runs out.Forgotten Childhood: Joy’s toys are stones; her school dreams feel impossible.

The Day Ushindi Came

A community health worker spotted Joy during a malnutrition screening:

Her tiny arms were as thin as twigs (severe acute malnutrition).

Mama Nia’s eyes filled with shame: “I can’t give her what she deserves.”

Emergency Food Basket: Fortified porridge, beans, and oil delivered weekly.

Grandmother’s Lifeline: Mama Nia joined our “Elders Farming Collective”—seeds, tools, and training to grow nutrient-rich vegetables.

One Year Later

• Joy’s belly is round with millet porridge.
• Mama Nia sells surplus kale at the market, earning enough for a school uniform.
• Their mud home echoes with Joy’s laughter—and the first storybook she owns.

Why This Matters

• $15 feeds a child like Joy for a month.$100 equips a grandparent to start a kitchen garden.
• 1 Intervention breaks the cycle of poverty.