Nyakaro Peninah
I am ten years old. I lost both my parents when I was still young. I was staying with my auntie in Western Uganda. My auntie did not tell me that my parents died until my sister told me when she came to my auntie's place.

My sister brought me to the Youth Corps home where I stay until now. Now I go to school and I am happy that I have a caring family.

My hobbies are dancing, music and I love going to school and praying. In the future I want to be a fashion designer.

Lazia Mutesi
I am 15 years old, born in eastern Uganda and lived with my grandmother after the death of my parents. My grandmother could not pay my school fees. So I stayed at home doing housework I stayed out of school for two years. One time I met a friend who told me about Youth Corps home. I thank God for the Youth Corps family because it has given me hope and I have all the basics that I need for everyday life. In the future I want to help orphans and needy children and want to be a secretary.

Mutebi M. Lawrence
I am 12 years old, I have never seen my father; I lived with my mother before I came to the Youth Corps home. My mother was helpless she could not pay my school fees. I stayed home everyday grazing goats, collecting firewood in the forest and helping my mother with house work. My brother Vincent brought me to the Youth Corps home; now I go to school, I have friends at home and we do house work as a family. I enjoy going to church and listening to the Pastor preaching, enjoy playing football and keeping my body fit.

Allen Nasasira
Born 1992 my father died when I was three years old and my mother took me to my grandmother’s place who later died when I was four years old. I was helpless and my mother did not know that grand mum died, she did not come to visit us and so I went to the streets.

On the streets I met my brother Jude he is two years older than me we lived on the streets with him begging for money and sleeping by the road side for 4years. We were later brought to the Youth Corp home my brother lives in the boy’s home and I live in the girl’s home.

In the future I want to be a nurse, I enjoy listening to music.

Olivia Wanjiko
I am 14 years old, my mother left home when I was 9 years and later she died when I was 13 years old. I lived with my father and brother in the slums of Kampala city. My father could not look after me and my brother was not going to school, sometimes there was no food. So I used to go to the city to look for food and money.

My friend Sophia who lived in the Youth Corps home told me about the home. Now I go to school, I like the friends I stay with in the home and the mentors. I thank God that he brought to the Youth Corps family. In the future I want to work in a beauty saloon.

Sunday Olum
I am 13 years old, my mother chased me away from home saying I was very unruly she did not want me to stay at home. I slept in old abandoned vehicles by the roadside with two other kids. We used to collect rubbish from homes for money and bought food. We carried carry luggage in the market, we cleaned the market and shops for pay. We used to bath and wash our clothes in valley stream.

One day a mentor from the Youth Corps home invited us to the Youth Corps house. I have been living at the Youth Corps home for three years now. I go to school, enjoy playing football.

At school we also do bible study, drama and reading.

Joanita Nakidde
I am 14 years old. My father died when I was three years and my mother also died the next year. I lived with my step mother after that but it was not easy she used to mistreat me like starving me, beating and reminded me about my late parents all the time. Eventually she chased me away from home. I started living on the streets when I was five years old. I ate from the rubbish bins, slept under the tree shades, washed clothes for people to get money, running errands for people and used to cook by the roadside.

I thank God that now I go to school, have a nice bed at the Youth Corps home. I go to church every Sunday my best friend is Sophie. I enjoy dancing and playing netball.

Amos Kato
I am 13 years old. I was living in Eastern Uganda with my parents until they separated; I stayed with my father who later married another wife when we moved to the city. My step mother did not like me, she always gave a bad report about me to my father.

One day my friend stole money from the neighbors shop and my stepmother accused me of stealing the money. My father locked me up in a room awaiting punishment, as I had always been beaten and mistreated. I escaped and ran away from home my father mobilized a group of men to chase me but I managed to escape and run to the city.

I lived in the city for three months with a friend. We used to collect used plastic water bottles and sell them we used this money to buy cheap food in the down town market.

I slept on the verandah of the main post office building. One time I was arrested by police and remanded at the Juvenile offenders’ center after two months I escaped back to the streets.
We were picking scrap metal from the railway station, someone from the Youth Corps home asked us if we needed a place to stay and we accepted. Now that I have a home, I want to start going to school. I want to become a lawyer and get people out of trouble.

I like watching TV, enjoy boxing, I hate people who mistreat others and I hate being idol.

Brian Wako
I am 11 years old, I have never met my mother, she left me with my father shortly after I was born, and my father took me to my grandmother’s place. Grandmother did not have a job so there was no money for food sometimes we stayed hungry, was not going to school and on top of that my grandmother always beat me up for slight mistakes. I lived on the streets of a Kampala suburb for two months, on the streets we slept on card boards and covered with polyethylene sheets, it was always too cold at night. It was always a struggle to find something to eat, the security personnel mistreated us, and we were enemies to the public.

I was just taking a walk down town when I met friends who had been on the streets but were now staying at the Youth Corps home, they told me about it and thought it was a better place than the streets, they brought me to the Youth Corps home where I have been staying for two years now. I enjoy staying in the Youth Corps home, now I have a bed, eat good food I am going to school. I like getting gifts and watching movies.

Marvin Ssendikwanawa
I am 11 years I lived at my grandmother’s place since I was a baby, my mother abandoned shortly after I was born. My grandmother lives in Bwaise a slum area of Kampala city, runs a bar at home. Because of her busy schedule in bar, I did all the house work and hanged out in the neighborhood with friends. I used to steal empty beer bottles from my grandmother’s bar and sell them to the neighbors, one day I stole a whole crate of empty beer bottles from the bar and run away from home because I would be severely punished if I returned. I stayed with my neighbors but eventually I had to live on the streets. A mentor from the Youth Corps home picked me one morning from the street and asked me if I would like to live with him and other kids like me in the home.

It nice living in the Youth Corps home, I have a nice bed and now going to school.
I enjoy watching movies and in the future I want to be a movie star.