When the World Feels Silent, PHU Helps It Hear: Amina’s Story

When Amina’s mother walked into the hospital carrying her 8-year-old daughter, she carried more than a child in pain — she carried the unbearable weight of not knowing how to save her.

Amina had fallen from a tree near their home in Mbale. What her mother thought was a simple injury turned into something far worse: a complex fracture that required urgent surgery. The cost? Nearly UGX 3.5 million — far more than what her mother, a vegetable vendor, had ever held in her hands at once.

She pleaded with relatives. Knocked on doors. Sat outside churches. Nothing came.

She told the doctor quietly, “Maybe God will help her walk again someday.”
The doctor replied gently, “She needs help now.”

Then someone told her about PHU.

A neighbor mentioned a new online platform — Please Help Us (PHU) — where people in urgent need could share their stories and receive donations from well-wishers anywhere in the world.

She didn’t know what the internet really was, but she came. With the help of a community youth, she wrote her story. Uploaded the hospital report. Added a photo of Amina, her leg wrapped in old cloth, her eyes dim but still alive.

It went live on PHU within 48 hours. And then… something incredible happened.

The Internet Heard Her. The World Showed Up.

From a café in Kampala, a university student donated UGX 5,000 — his entire lunch allowance.
From Nairobi, a woman gave $20, writing: “For Amina, with love.”
A retired nurse in London sent $100 and messaged: “I lost my daughter years ago. This is for yours.”

Within 10 days, the entire surgery was funded by 96 strangers.

Amina was wheeled into surgery on a Wednesday morning, tears in her mother’s eyes — not of fear, but of gratitude. Today, Amina walks again. She even runs. She dances. She dreams.

This is Why PHU Exists.

Because in Uganda — and across much of Africa — thousands like Amina suffer silently.
Not because people don’t care.
But because there’s never been a place to connect those who need help with those who want to help — digitally, transparently, and instantly.

PHU (Please Help Us) is more than a platform.
It’s a lifeline.
It’s a bridge between heartbreak and hope.
And it’s Uganda’s first digital charity platform where anyone — a mother, a student, a struggling orphanage, a flood victim — can say, “Please help us.”
And the world can respond, “Yes, we will.”

Why It Matters

• PHU gives dignity to the act of asking.

• It gives power to those who want to give.

• It cuts out the middlemen and lets stories speak for themselves.

• It builds trust through verification and transparency.

• It creates miracles from mobile phones.