I must have been eight in 2008 when my mother took me with her to Kampala. She told me she’d gotten a job in the capital. However, she didn’t tell me that I’d have to run her job on her behalf. When we arrived in the city, from Napak district, the nature of my job was explained to me.

I was required to sit by the roadside every night from 7 pm to 1 am with an empty plate, arms outstretched towards passers-by. Mother had brought me to Kampala to become a street beggar. The first few nights on the streets were exciting; I had never seen a place so beautiful. The city was filled with countless people, high buildings, good food and fast cars.

I had never held paper money before. Then begging became difficult. My mother became demanding. We lived in a rented room in Kisenyi to where I returned every night to a drunk and angry mother. Every time I returned home without ‘enough money, she beat the hell out of me. The beatings happened to the other children who worked for her. We all were required to place our day’s earnings before her when we returned home.

She then counted the money and beat all those with less than 40,000/-. She wouldn’t hear anything if you came home with little money. She accused us, often accusing us of hiding her money. On many nights, we would go to bed with no food. If you didn’t buy something to eat, you would be certain of sleeping on an empty stomach. I often cried on the streets and at home. I badly wanted to return to my life back home in Napak because I was tired of the city and my mother.

Paul Longole, 16. Napak, Karamoja.

Note: Paul Longole was rescued from his abusive mother in 2010 and reunited with his father. Paul returned to school too.