Jessica Yu

this is a worthwhile read, and i am glad jessica yu has been able to share gladys kalibbala's wonderful story with readers.

kalibbala is a journalist in kampala, uganda. in her weekly column for a national newspaper, her focus is on stories of homeless children - in an effort to reunite these kids with family members, if at all possible. kalibbala seems like a very altruistic person. she is not even remotely well off, yet becomes personally involved in many of these children's lives - securing medical care, housing, schooling, families... and often takes children in herself. kalibbala works long hours and travels great distances, all in huge-hearted service to the children. (seriously... because of her financial situation, she lives a couple of hours away from kampala, so makes that commute each day, and often has to travel (ruggedly) to remote villages hundreds of kilometres away during the course of one working day. sometimes, if she's lucky, she manages a 2 or 3 of hours of sleep at home in a night.) a reviewer in publishers weekly said this of kalibbala, "Her personality and implacable determination mark every anecdote, most of which radiate an essential optimism even when the ending is not unqualifiedly happy. " and it is absolutely true.

in this same review, it is noted "This is deeply researched personal journalism, but the focus is so close that a broader context—whether of Uganda’s history, the African AIDS crisis, or the struggles of developing countries in general—rarely comes through. Yu’s intense close-up on her charismatic heroine results in an inspirational narrative but neglects that story’s dense, complicated background." and i very much agree here. while i did appreciate this book very much, i constantly felt like something was missing, and wanted more depth to the issues the city and country are experiencing. there is a root to the abandoned and homeless children of kampala and i feel an exploration of these concerns would have really complemented the narrative.

my quibbles aside, i am very glad to have learned about gladys kalibbala, and the incredible work she is doing in uganda.… (more)