More than 10 years ago, Ms Oliver Atim was excited to land a well-paying job at a commercial bank. Working at a bank not only provided a solid income but also brought prestige. She had everything: money, privileges, and a loving family.
However, after 11 years, the job no longer brought her the happiness she had hoped for. Ms Atim felt empty. She lacked purpose and joy.
‘I did not find any purpose in life, although I was working in a bank. So, I decided to quit,’ she said.
After walking away from her banking career, Ms Atim said she finally found happiness beyond the bank walls. For years, she had thought about leaving to pursue something more meaningful.
‘I eventually started looking for something that makes me happy because even if I was a certified banker, I was not happy. You know, life is not about getting money, eating, and sleeping. You need to be happy too,’ she adds.
In August 2022, just two years after the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms Atim enrolled in a course on voluntarism and service.
‘After just three months doing the course, I quit the bank because I wanted to help others. I wanted to uplift the lives of the less privileged. I was eager to get out of the bank and help older persons and malnourished children,’ she says.
The birth of Santa Foundation
She later founded the Santa Foundation to support extremely vulnerable children, youth, and households in the Acholi Sub-region with nutritional items, clothing, psychosocial support, and literacy skills.
Over the past three years, Ms Atim has visited hospitals, homes, and orphanages to assist those in need.
‘Supporting these categories of people brings me joy. It makes me satisfied with life. It is more important to me than keeping money in the bank,’ she adds.
Ms Atim says chronic poverty has left many children in rural, formerly war-ravaged areas suffering from severe malnutrition. She says young children are paying the price for being born into poor households.
‘Children are dying from malnutrition. This undermines Uganda’s most valuable asset, human resource. Who knows who these children would be? Maybe we are losing future presidents or leaders,’ she says.
Malnutrition in children
She also expressed concern over the increasing number of malnutrition cases recorded at St Mary’s Hospital Lacor, one of Uganda’s largest not-for-profit hospitals.
‘Every day, St Mary’s Hospital Lacor receives children suffering from malnutrition. These deaths are preventable. It is preventable if those with plenty were willing to give to the less privileged,’ she says.
Ms Atim says saving a child from malnutrition does not require much.
‘Sometimes what can save a life is as simple as a cup of milk, a packet of sugar, or a bar of soap. For far too long, we have depended on ‘White donors’ to solve our problems. But now that donations from the Western world are drying up. We need to do it ourselves to save our children,’ she said.
Her foundation has donated food and non-food to St Jude’s Orphanage in Gulu City and malnourished children at St Mary’s Hospital Lacor. The children received milk, soybean flour, food supplements, and clothing.
Ms Atim says many Ugandans do not support those in need because the country lacks a strong culture of giving.
‘Many people are happier to receive than give, despite the joy one derives from the latter. We must teach our children, who are the next generation, the value of generosity, the joy that giving brings to our hearts,’ she adds.
Cases of severe malnutrition across districts in the Acholi Sub-region have been linked to beliefs in witchcraft and high rates of teenage motherhood. According to a report by Love One International, many communities still believe that children are not suffering from malnutrition but are bewitched by their enemies.
Nearly 70 percent of communities in the sub-region either practice or believe in witchcraft, an issue that has hindered the fight against a condition that kills dozens of Ugandan children every year.
A survey conducted in seven northern Uganda districts found that of 32,603 children assessed between April 2021 and December 2024, 5,401 were suffering from acute malnutrition. The assessment covered Amuru, Zombo, Nwoya, Gulu, Omoro, Pader, and Agago districts.
In total, 571 children with severe acute malnutrition received medical and food therapy after their conditions worsened.
Agago District recorded the highest cases, accounting for 21 percent. Zombo followed with 14 percent, then Amuru and Nwoya with 12 percent each. Gulu had 11 percent, Omoro 10 percent, Gulu City 8 percent, and Pader seven percent. Of the more than 570 children rehabilitated, 495 recovered and were reunited with their families, while 32 required specialised treatment and surgeries.
Dr Denis Omoya Ocula, the Lamwo District health officer, says 13 out of 100 children in the Acholi Sub-region do not get enough food, leaving many stunted.
‘Malnutrition not only affects children’s growth. It also affects their brains. A child may overcome the physical complications, but his or her brain will never recover. That is how bad malnutrition is,’ he says.
He adds that children who experience severe malnutrition often struggle in school.
According to the World Health Organisation, stunting caused by long-term nutritional deprivation often leads to delayed mental development, poor school performance, and reduced intellectual capacity.
Nearly half of all deaths among children under five are linked to under nutrition, most occurring in low- and middle-income countries.