For children who have cared for their dying parents in Sub-Saharan Africa, hope is something to be held onto tightly. It’s the hope that there will be someone to offer them the chance at a better life. Road to Hope documents the lives of child caregivers and those they meet on their journey. Produced by the Hospice Foundation, this film shares its roots in Ugandan palliative care with its 2012 documentary Okuyamba.
Named for the first film, proceeds form Okuyamba Fest (a Lugandan word meaning “to help”), will benefit the Road to Hope fund, which provides support to orphaned Ugandan child caregivers. In Uganda, as in many other countries throughout the world, children often are the primary caregivers to a parent or parents facing serious, life-limiting illnesses. After the death of their parents, with no breadwinner to support them, they often are forced to drop out of school and look for casual jobs such as selling ground nuts on the streets in urban areas or begging for money in order to survive. These children epitomize “okuyamba.”
Read the full story here.
