Richard’s Story

With the right support, street connected young people can achieve their full potential

We first met Richard* on the streets of Jinja in 2012. He was no older than 5 years at the time (although it was hard to tell as he was so malnourished). We took him to our Halfway Homes for rehabilitation and then carried out a home tracing visit to meet his mother. She lived in a local slum area and unfortunately struggled with alcohol addiction.

We decided at this time to enroll Richard into a day school local to the S.A.L.V.E. Halfway Home and that he would stay with us whilst we worked to treat the malnutrition and tried to support his mother with a small business start-up.

Over time, Richard’s health began to improve and he shared that he wanted to visit his Mum and check on his siblings. Despite trying, his Mum’s business had not survived and when we visited, we found that she was not in a good way. During this visit, 2 of Richard’s other siblings were at home and clearly in need of support, so they were also taken to boarding school so that they could receive an education.

We also began tracing for Richard’s father, and eventually, we were able to find out where he was living. Richard began going to visit him during the school holidays, taking his younger two siblings with him. The father is very elderly and often sick, but he cares a lot for Richard and his siblings and his wife also cares for them.

During this time, Richard’s mother had moved away from Jinja, back to the village with her husband. In 2024, very sadly, their mother was hit by a moving car and passed away. Richard and his siblings were devastated. We travelled with them for the burial and during this time, we discovered that Richard had another 3 siblings, who were all in a bad way and in desperate need of care. After speaking with their father and the local chairman, it was agreed that they would be brought into our care too.

Over this time, Richard has always thought about his siblings and put their needs before his own. During the school holidays, he works on S.A.L.V.E.’s Briquette project to earn some pocket money, which he then uses to buy things for his siblings.

Despite everything that he has been through, he is one of the most kind, caring and generous people you will ever meet.

He is currently in his final year of school (A-Level equivalent) and we are so excited for his future. He is planning on going to university if he gets the grades and he hopes to become a lawyer.