When Musoke’s step-father and a family friend abused him he left home and made the 85km journey to Kampala. To earn a living, he scavenged for scrap metal, but one day he was accused of stealing by a man who beat him and cut off three of his fingers. Bleeding and in shock, he found his way to the Retrak drop-in centre where he received urgent medical care.

When Musoke was ready, Retrak staff began to discuss options for the future with him and he moved to Retrak’s Tudabujja Halfway Home to recuperate. Our staff visited Musoke’s family to see if it would be possible for him to return home. Unfortunately, they found that the circumstances that had originally driven Musoke to run away had not changed, so it certainly would not be in his best interests to go back.

Retrak staff searched for and found a foster family for him. In the meantime, Musoke stayed at the Tudabujja halfway home for several months until he was ready to live with his new family. He had visited them a few times and spent a week staying with them. He had really enjoyed his stay and left Tudabujja full of excitement to start a new chapter of his life.

Musoke now lives with a foster parent, a lady who also looks after her grandson and another boy fostered by the family five years ago. Retrak social worker, Dinah, has kept in regular contact with Musoke’s foster mother, who has been incredibly supportive. As she is a trained teacher, she has gone into school to ensure he is given the encouragement he needs to catch up. His foster brother is in the same class at school and also offers Musoke much needed friendship and practical help. With all this support, Musoke is becoming more and more open and comfortable with his new family and feeling positive about his future.

*Children’s names have been changed and they are all happy for us to share their story with you