Between 2005-2008, I spent six months of every year working as a Producer on high-profile TV shows for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and the other six months volunteering at Sanyu Babies’ Home in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
My two worlds couldn’t have been any more different – I spent my time oscillating between the craziness and glamour of “Reality TV” and working in a desperately poor and overstretched orphanage. Within days, I would go from being the voice of Big Brother to fighting to keep alive a 1-day-old baby who had been left for dead in a toilet.
Abraham, abandoned at 8 weeks old
For three years I divided my time in this way, but my tipping point came when I buried a little baby boy called Abraham. He had been abandoned in a taxi park at 8 weeks old, and died of meningitis in an orphanage aged just 16 weeks. In his short life, no one truly loved him and when he died, no one truly missed him. I had failed him. We had all failed him.
Abraham died at the age of just 16 weeks
I decided then to quit my TV career to establish the Child’s i Foundation, with the aim of helping ensure Abraham’s tragic story wasn’t repeated over and over again. My job as a TV Producer was to tell a story that would attract millions of viewers and create a connection with people who cared about what they were seeing. It struck me then that I could harness the same skills to connect the babies abandoned in Uganda with the millions of people worldwide who care about what happens to them.
Using video updates, I wanted to create an online community in which supporters can actually see for themselves the difference they are making.
I’ve lived this dream for the past 4 years, and to finally see it realised – and to have you join me on the journey – makes it all worthwhile.
