The Life and Work of Patricia Brenninkmeyer.
EPISODE 3.2: THE REALITY OF SOCIAL WORK IN UGANDA.
As a social worker, Patricia was almost embarrassed by the wealth her family possessed since many were quite unfortunate in her newfound community. However, her wealth was substantial in bettering the lives of the poor in Uganda. She eventually persuaded her father to invest in a new purpose-built babies’ home. The Nsambya Babies’ Home under the Child Welfare and Adoption Society was eventually redesigned as a fully functional solid building aimed at housing the less privileged babies. Patricia also fully funded the education of some of the orphans at the babies’ home for example Aloysius Byekwaso, a smart yet poor boy who was able to attend secondary school courtesy of Patricia’s selflessness, he went to one of the prominent schools in Uganda, St. Mary’s College School. Aloysius would always write to her sharing his academic progress and to-date attributes his success to Patricia.
During her free time while in Uganda, Patricia and a couple of her friends would tour around and they even encountered Mountain Elgon, a dormant volcano in eastern Uganda. However, the Priest friend with whom they had trekked the mountain fell ill with malaria and eventually succumbed to the disease while on the trek. Patricia and another friend had to carry his corpse down the mountain as other trekkers and camp members had fled earlier on. This bad experience and many other good ones are some of what made Patricia’s experience in Uganda an unforgettable one!
Another unforgettably sad experience Patricia faced while on her social work journey in Uganda was when Lillie Millie one of the teenage girls she had been taking care of escaped to Kenya with an older friend of hers in a bid to secure jobs at the Kenya Airways. While in Kenya, the two girls were reported missing and eventually found deceased, their bodies stuffed in sacks floating down the Athi River. Patricia, who was on an English break in England would eventually be notified about this sad and horrific occurrence, the culprits were apprehended and the bodies of the two girls were brought back home to their families in Uganda where they both had a decent burial they much deserved. Patricia’s attachment to these children meant that she shared in whatever sorrows or joys they experienced hence Millie’s death being such a blow to Patricia. She had to ensure that the other nurses and sisters offered limited care to the babies without getting too attached, a task that proved difficult as many of them would want to mother the babies.
In 1966, an appraisal regarding the running of Uganda as a multi-ethnic country sparked off between Sir Milton Obote the then Prime minister of Uganda and the then president Kabaka Muteesa II. Over the next few months, the military and state security services increased pressure on the Kabaka who eventually fled to exile and was eventually overthrown by Obote’s government. During this period, Patricia’s family was worried for her safety and urged her to leave Uganda, she eventually did.
Once the tension had subsided, she returned to Uganda, but a lot had changed! Obote’s regime was characterized by authoritarian rule! Political opponents were being tortured and there was increased food shortage and corruption. Unfortunately, once she thought all had calmed, in January 1971, while Obote was in Singapore for the Commonwealth Heads Of State Government Meeting, his government was overthrown by that of Idi Amin Dada. The previously peaceful Uganda was under political turmoil yet again! Patricia was again forced to leave Uganda due to the great bloodshed the country was facing under the once welcomed and praised, Amin regime.
- Patricia shares a photo moment with some of the mothers and sisters from Nsambya Babies’ Home, they assisted with looking after the babies. ↩︎
- Patricia poses with the then Governing Board members of the Nsambya Babies’ Home. ↩︎
Written by Karungi Mary Providence.