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Established in 1929 by Milnes Winfred Walker- RIP.
She was a mid wife at Mengo hospital and noticed the overwhelming number of children abandoned after birth within the hospital. She started collecting the babies and providing them with much needed care.
We are a Christian organization taking care of abandoned children. We care for up to 50 babies and toddlers aged between 1 day old and 4 years. Many of our children are found abandoned in garbage heaps, pit latrines, diches, taxi parks or are left by the side of the road.
Sanyu Babies’ Home Core Values are: Love and Concern for others, Respect, Integrity, Stewardship and Professionalism.
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Sanyu Babies’ Home is a Christian organisation based in Kampala, Uganda that seeks to provide Christ-like love to babies and children deprived of parental love and to reintegrate them into the community through reuniting them with their families, fostering or adoption.
Sanyu Babies’ Home is the first and oldest Babies’ Home in Uganda. Sanyu was founded in 1929 by Milnes Winfred Walker, a British midwife working as a missionary at Mengo Hospital. Milnes Winfred Walker noticed the large number of babies being abandoned at the hospital after their birth and took them into her care. Today, we continue to do this work. Child abandonment is still an issue; many of our children are found abandoned in ditches, at hospitals, in taxi parks, on garbage heaps, at the side of the road or in pit latrines. The children are taken to the police who refer the child into our custody for love, care and attention.
Here at Sanyu we have the capacity to care for up to 50 children at a time, although during our busiest time we often operate at over capacity! The children in our care typically are between the ages of 0-4yrs. Sometimes we may care for a child until they are a little older if it gives them the chance to be reunited or adopted.
‘Sanyu’ means joy and that is what we want our children, staff members and volunteers to experience while they are with us. We want our children to know that they are deeply loved, have an extended family who care about them and know that they will always have a place to call home.
Thank you for taking the time to look at our website and find out more about Sanyu Babies’ Home. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!
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5am: A day at Sanyu Babies' Home starts with the feeding of our smallest babies. They are then changed and taken back to bed to complete their morning sleep.
6am: The toddlers and older children are woken up and taken to the potty/toilet. They wash their faces and then take a cup of porridge. Then they brush their teeth, are bathed and dressed ready for the early morning devotion at 7.30am. Our morning devotion time involves praise and worship, sharing the word of God and prayer.
8am: It is bath time for both the toddlers and babies. The smallest babies are then bottle- fed and taken back to bed while the toddlers are taken to class. The oldest children are taken to school.
8.30am: School time for all! Sanyu Babies’ School has three classes: Joy Class, Peace Class and Faith Class. Joy class caters for babies between 6 months and 18 months and involves interacting and socialising, learning how to be independent, learning how to crawl, sitting, toy playing, feeding, and talking. Peace and Faith Class cater for children between 18 months and 4 years. The younger of the two classes (Peace Class) learn toilet manners, toothbrushing, socialising, shading, story reading, singing and finger printing among others. Our oldest class (Faith Class) continue to build on these skills and start learning to count, write, and spell too!
9-10am: Snack time for all.
12pm: The school going children go back home and it is lunch time for all the children. Then its potty/toilet time and the children put on clean comfortable clothes ready for their nap.
1pm: It is naptime for everyone. The Mamas use this time to catch up on jobs, eat their own lunches, socialise and have a well-deserved break. If any of the children wake up, they will often bring them out of their beds, so they don’t disturb those who are sleeping!
3pm: The babies take a bath, while it is potty time again for the toddlers and toilet time for the older children. Everyone enjoys a drink and snack too; for the babies this is milk or porridge while for our older children it is porridge, chai or juice as well as some fruit. Then it’s guided play time and an ‘outing’ within the home’s compounds (normally to the play area).
6pm: The children come back from playtime ready for dinner. The mamas working on days and those working the night shift both help with dinner before the night teams take over. Once dinner has been finished, the babies are changed and put to bed. The toddlers and older children have potty/toilet time then are bathed. The toddlers and younger children then go to bed.
8-9pm: The oldest children can stay up a little later. They watch the TV, say their prayers, have a snack and then use the potty/toilet before bed.
12pm: The babies are woken up for the final day’s feeding and their nappies/clothes are changed before they are put back to bed.
About Us
SBH is the first and oldest Babies’ Home in Uganda.