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 It started as a very good spring Saturday morning, and Birmingham was brighter than usual. All FM radios in the city were singing praises for the weather, and promises of how it was only going to get better. Now good weather here in England promises good days. On sunny days for example, people tend to smile more than usual, and you are more likely to get a free meal from a complete stranger (ok the last part is not exactly true.)
But for me, the Saturday was about to change. I received a phone call from a Paul in Nottingham asking me if I had thought about putting a link to Aisha Nabukeera's website on ConnectUganda.com.
"Who the h*ll is Nabukeera?" I politely asked Paul because I hadn't a clue! What followed was to change my plans for the day (and the weekend) completely.
Aisha Nabukeera, I later came to know, is a 13 year beautiful sweet little girl, who on the 6th of April 2006 was spitefully tricked into setting herself alight by her savage stepmother. She is scared for life. Forget the physical scars. These may heal.
To this day I still can not imagine how anyone I share this planet with can be that spiteful. Where does someone get off doing something like that to a young girl? Love for her man? Jealous towards the woman before her? Someone please tell me because I guess I will never ever understand.
Anyway, after visiting Nabukeera?s website, it was clear in my mind that I had to help. But first I had to let my fellow Ugandans in the Diaspora know about her.
The plan was to host Aisha live during the Family Sunday Show on ConnectUganda.com. With a bit of luck, we managed to track her down. She was with her guardian, Mr. Gashumba. They both kindly agreed to give us a live interview that we managed to air on Sunday 15 April 2007.
As I was interviewing Gashumba, he revelead that he first met Aisha in one of the civil courts in Masaka where he had gone to sort his own land wrangles. But as he waited for his turn to see the magistrate, he saw a girl who looked as though she had just come from a fire torture chamber because her skin had pealed off in most places on her body. She seemed to be in so much pain but she was patiently waiting for the magistrate to pass a ruling on whether her stepmother was responsible for her pain.
This desperate girl was Aisha. She now lives with Mr. Gashumba in Kampala and he is taking full responsibility to see that she lives a normal life again. The more we carried into the interview, the more Gashumba gained my respect. I thought what he did was a selfless human act!
Speaking to Aisha was an experience. When I asked her what if any she wanted our listeners to help her with, in a sweet innocent voice, she started by thanking those who had already helped. I could have shed a few tears but I did not. My heart however bled for this little girl. Will she ever heal?
The law in Uganda is something else! It protected Aisha?s father and her stepmother so much to the extent that they are now walking free because there is not enough evidence to implicate them.
After the interview, my initial guts were ask the Diaspora to gather through ConnectUganda.com so that we contribute and present one fat cheque to Aisha. But after reading the papers from home where Gashumba is accusing a couple of companies that run fundraising drives for Aisha for not remitting all the money collected, and after Gashumba revealing that a lot of people had out of impulse pledged money but never paid, I quickly changed my mind.
Listen to the full interview as it aired during the Family Sunday Show on ConnectUganda.com in April 2007. Click play on the player below.
Following content added in August 2007 after a second radio interview with Mr. Gashumba:
Three and a half months down the road, we linked up with Mr. Gashumba to check on Aisha's progress. She has not as yet got the skin grafting operation to help correct the physical scars. The good news however Aisha has been promised free medicals at one of the Shriners many skin specialist hospitals in Texas. The problem, or problems as we found out during the show:
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Aisha's upkeep while in the US is still a problem. We suggested a host family or private rentals.
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Mr. Gashumba's financial credibility was something many callers questioned to the point that many were asking him to step down. I like to think the debate should focus on Aisha and her well-being though.
We are anxiously waiting for Aisha to set off for Texas. We believe upkeep should not be a problem and that collectively, we can help.
To listen to the second part of the program as it aired in August 2007 here on Connect Uganda during the Family Sunday Show with Mike and Queenie, click on the player below.
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lets help this girl when we can.