About BOCHM
(Buwaiswa Orphanage Children's Home Ministries)
In the Beginning
Chris Kalema comes from a family of 10 brothers and 8 sisters. His father had 8 wives and several other girlfriends. Chris’s father the late Edward Waiswa Nadiope lived a very irresponsible life. No wonder, by the beginning of the 1970s, he no longer had enough money to sustain his big family. The family went from riches to rags, the father lost every thing he had in life, and he resorted to over drinking alcohol. He became an alcoholic. Joy, family happiness, peace and respect was all lost in once upon a time a happy family. Most of the women he had married run away, he found it so hard to keep his family close. It became even harder for my daddy to feed, cloth and educate the army of Children he had. Most of our mothers resorted to desperate means to feed, educate and cloth us. Some even became more of survival sex workers.
“Life was never the same again.”
It was only by God’s grace and love that some of us were able to go to School. In the 1990s, my big sister took me on, she became my every thing, she was so strong in faith, once in a while also my father support me after harvesting and selling coffee from our big farm land.
On the eve of my joining the University my Sister died of HIV/AIDS (Rip Late Mukoda Lillian), my future went into balance again, lucky even I got a scholarship and my mother was able to get for my some Pocket money to help me stay in school. Later on in 1994 I lost a big brother (Rip Late David Waiswa) to HIV/AIDS, again in 1996 I lost another sister (Rip Late Rose Nangoma) to HIV/AIDS. In total my brother and the 2 sisters left behind 23 Orphans, 16 of them living with HIV/AIDS Orphans. After meeting my wife Barbara, I later learnt that it’s the same situation in her family. She had lost 2 sisters and 3 brothers leaving behind 18 Orphans all of them living with HIV/IDS.
“With little experience and almost no resources, we decided to take on these orphans left behind by our late relatives as our own.”
We had just finished our bachelors degree from Makerere University Kampala Uganda, we got some jobs but all the resources we got we put it into supporting these Orphans, who infact were our relatives in a certain way.
In 1998 we decided to go into full time among the HIV/AIDS Orphans, Grannies who are looking after Orphans, single/teenager/widows mothers and youth at risk.
“In 1999 the Government of Uganda officially registered us a Charity Organization.”
We were registered as Organization for Good Life of the Marginalized (OGLM) the government further gave us a permission to open up a fully operational Orphanage Home for HIV/AIDS Orphans, an Educational & Vocational Training center. We were seeing God’s love. So many pastors and ministers from different churches and countries were prophesying on that we are a father and mother to hundreds of orphans.
Over the years, now my weak and poor desperate father realized that what I was doing was a blessing in the family and out of appreciation he donated 280 Acres of Land to us in Buwaiswa Kamuli Eastern Uganda, 146Km from Kampala the capital of Uganda. With $250 raised from Barbara’s job, friends and family, we set out build the 1st dormitories for the Orphanage, of course we needed $30,000USD, but we believed and had faith that we shall get there. We faced so many challenges but we refused to give in to failure, we knew it was the devil. In 2003, a house with 120 Children housing capacity was dedicated the lord and the orphans entered. Over the years we have seen God’s goodness and more structures have been built for the good of God’s Children.
“The past decade has been extremely tough for the orphanage, but it has grown considerably.”
There are 2 dorms, an office, kitchen, and bathroom facilities. The staff has pointed the way to increased self-sufficiency by creating a poultry project, and an agricultural project that produces some food for the children. There are currently 3 full-time staff members at the orphanage. Chris Kalema is in charge of day-to-day operations, and Barbara also assists in the office, the poultry project, and in general care of the children. There are also some who live near the orphanage and who help with gardens and every day work. In total our Orphanage supports 30 – 42 orphans within the Orphanage and 782 Orphans with in the community with supporting grannies. As some orphans die of HIV/AIDS the community brings in more to fill the gap.
“To a child who has nothing or no one YOU can make all the difference, a difference that will last throughout eternity.”
Our Orphanage is supported through charitable donations from people like you. Through the Sponsorship Program you can touch the life of a child forever. Without the funding from sponsors, Buwaiswa Orphanage Children's Home (BOCHM) would not be possible. The Sponsorship Program gives you an opportunity to make a life long impact on the life of a child. 100% of your sponsorship dollars go toward your child's education & care through the General Operating Fund. There are no administrative fees deducted from your donation. Be assured that your child will receive not only an education but, most importantly, an excellent Christian foundation & Christian education. See our children here.
