Kisses from Katie

Outside of the Jinja is Masese, a slum that’s home to Uganda’s poorest people. The majority of people living in Masese are “known as Karimojong, a seminomadic tribal people” who are feared by the locals because they speak a different language and aren’t well understood (183). The livelihood of the Karimojong used to be cattle, but now they live on government land, without cattle, and in dire poverty. They seem to have lost their identity as a people and have turned to prostitution, alcohol, and other criminal activities just to survive. Katie falls in love with them instantly.

After treating the wounds of a little girl from Masese, Katie takes her home, and over time, she builds friendships with many of the locals. Since Amazima has been receiving a surplus of money for its feeding grant, she decides to use that money to feed the people of Masese. She eventually works out a deal with a nearby school in which the school agrees to let her use their kitchen to make food for the Masese children as long as she will also feed the school’s students and teachers. As a bonus, the schoolmaster will also let some children from Masese “attend school without paying fees!” (187).