All four children were born with sickle cell disease. After both parents walked away, Najjuko was left as the sole caregiver.
“It has been over two years since our parents left us,” Najjuko said, fighting back tears.
“First, our father disappeared. Later, our mother also gave up and walked away. Since then, I have been the one looking after my siblings.”
Once a Senior Two student at St Mark Secondary School, Najjuko dropped out to care for her siblings.
One of them is disabled, and the youngest is only eight years old. Despite her own fragile health, she has taken on full responsibility.
Her greatest struggle is finding food and medicine.
“Sometimes I go to work in people’s homes, doing small jobs so that we can eat,” she explained. “On many days, we survive on just one meal.”
Neighbours, though sympathetic, say the burden is far beyond what the community can handle.
“We try to help where we can, but the needs of these children are overwhelming,” said Joweria Nabigumira, a resident of Kayunga-Kigoogwa.
Ruth Nakyejwe, a sickle cell activist at Mityana Hospital, has been assisting the children informally but insists their case requires long-term support.
“Caring for children with sickle cell goes beyond individual charity. It needs structured medical and social interventions. Najjuko is too young to carry this burden alone,” she noted.
Mityana District Woman MP Joyce Bagala, herself a parent of a child with sickle cell and an ambassador for awareness, described Najjuko’s plight as heartbreaking.
“I know the pain and stigma that comes with raising a child with sickle cell. But no parent should ever walk away. A child, whether sick or healthy, deserves love and care,” she said.
Bagala urged increased awareness to combat stigma and ignorance. “We must teach people how to prevent the disease and how to support families living with it,” she added.
Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder that causes severe pain and weakens the body’s ability to carry oxygen.
According to health statistics, 13.3 percent of Ugandan children are affected, placing Uganda fifth among African countries most impacted.
The only prevention available is premarital screening for the sickle cell trait.
For Najjuko and her siblings, however, the fight is not prevention but survival. Despite her daily struggles, Najjuko dreams of returning to school to become an accountant.
“If I ever get support, I want to study again,” she said quietly. “For now, I just want my siblings to live.”