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Worksheet: Charles's story
Hi! My name is Charles Senyange and I am 12, nearly 13. I live
with about twenty other boys in an old wagon in the railway yard
in Kampala, a city in Uganda. I have to live there because my parents
were killed by soldiers three years ago and I ran away and hid here.
We sleep on the floor of the wagon on newspapers, but I also have
some empty cardboard boxes and a bed sheet which I have to keep
hidden in a safe place during the day or they would be stolen.
I do have a very good friend and we help to look after each other.
His name is Musa Umani and we keep each other warm at night when
it gets very cold in the wagon.
In the morning I usually go straight to the city market about 10
minutes walk away. It is here that all the lorries arrive with loads
of goods to sell. I often pick up loose bananas from the floor where
they have fallen and sell them. Sometimes I sell soap which I buy
cheaply from one of the lorry drivers.
For my breakfast, which I buy from the hot food stalls in the market,
I have black coffee with sugar, and some cassava with beans. For
lunch I may have matoke and rice. When I have earned a lot I may
buy some meat.
I have one pair of shorts and one shirt which I wash once a week
in the river with a bit of soap. I also have a pair of shoes - I
found them on the rubbish pile.
The police don't like boys like me working in the market. They
think we're going to make trouble. Sometimes they come and chase
us away so we have to be on the lookout for them. If they catch
us they sometimes take us to the police station and beat us, or
they may send us to Naguru, a boys' home. I don't like Naguru because
we are treated just like prisoners; we can't walk or go out, and
besides, I don't like the food there.
I like my life in the wagon and working in the market - it's a
lot better than going to school. I went to school when I was younger
and that's where I learnt to speak English.
When I get older I hope to have my own stall at the market and
make enough money to rent a house.
Lesson plan: Exploring rights
From the Children's rights online resource
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