A British mum who was tired of her children thinking of themselves as poor took them on an aid trip to Uganda – and it “blew their minds”.
Aid worker Ziz York paid to have her two girls Nia, nine, and eight-year-old Robyn join her on a visit so they could witness real poverty.
She said: “Before we went to Uganda, my daughters had been complaining ‘Oh, we’re so poor’ because they’d seen friends get holidays to Disney World or getting an Xbox for their birthdays.
“I said ‘You have a roof over your head, we can buy pretty much what we want in a supermarket, you have freedom of movement, we are in the top 5% richest in the world’.”
The girls were not convinced, pointing out they don’t have “a mansion or servants”.
So their mum showed them the conditions faced by some in the East Africa nation. She said: “We do live in a suburban bubble, so Uganda was mind-blowing for them.
“I think the biggest eye-opener for them was the lack of clothing.
“They were seeing children that were a quarter dressed because their clothes were that ragged.
“They saw the lack of basic supplies we take for granted.
“The Ugandan kids didn’t have pens, paper, underwear – a lot didn’t have shoes. There were no toys.”
Nia and Robyn did not witness the malnutrition suffered by some children in the country, or those dying from malaria, but Ziz said they saw enough to understand why Uganda needs help.
She added: “I wish more British people could get that perspective.”
The mum, from Inverness, works for British charity Teams4U which specialises in educating people in Uganda about sexual health.
It aims to teach girls about their periods so they are not too ashamed to go to school. Periods are seen by many there as a “curse”.
One in four women have a child by the age of 19.
The charity also gives family planning lessons. Health workers offering birth control have been met by men with machetes.
On average, women in Uganda reportedly have five children, but in rural areas they have many more. There is also a high risk of HIV.
Child marriage is “rampant” across Uganda, according to the United Nations.