Stopping child abandonment in Uganda

At our Ewafe Project for abandoned and at risk children our aim is for children to live in families. The Ewafe Home is a transitional home and we have been reintegrating children with their own families for the past 3-4 years. In total we have reintegrated 38 children. Sometimes children can go back to live with their mother and father, sometimes a grandparent or an aunty or uncle. It is so important for children to be connected to their families. However, there are of course situations where children are not able to live with their own relatives. For example in cases of abuse, violence or in cases where there are no family members that we can find for them to be reintegrated with. In these cases we have wanted to launch a foster care program so that these children can live in families and feel like they belong. Formally becoming a foster carer is a new enough concept in Uganda and therefore we want to make sure that families are fully vetted, trained and prepared to take on the responsibility of a precious Ewafe child. With the support of local social services we have been able to bring one family through this process and make our first ever foster care family placement. Read Gemma's Story to find out more.
 

Gemma's* Story
(*name changed)

Gemma was 8 when her mother became very unwell and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Gemma was referred to the Ewafe Project and we took her in and gave her a safe place to stay back in 2018. The hope was that Gemma's mum would recover but sadly as time went on her mother was still not showing signs of recovery to the point where she would be able to take care of Gemma again. With no other family options we found a loving family who have been going through the process of being approved foster carers. This month the final approval and placement took place and Gemma went to live with her new family. This Ugandan family have the means to take care of Gemma, provide her with an education and all she needs to thrive. Not only that, but they also have the space in their hearts and lives to give Gemma the love she so desperately needs along with the one to one attention and sense of belonging that is not easy to find when living in a group home. 

We are delighted for Gemma and will be following up on her journey and how she settles in to her new family. We hope to be able to find suitable foster families for more children but we also lack the funding to roll this out on a large scale so please do share the word about our fostering programme to those who might want to donate. 

Photo: Gemma* with her new Foster siblings, settling into her new home. 

David's Story of Hope 

David was 5 years old when he and his mother ended up living on the streets because of poverty. His mother was suffering from a severe mental health issue and her family did not know where she and David were. When David’s mother was admitted into hospital there was nowhere for David to go and no family to contact. The hospital contacted Kids Club Kampala’s Ewafe Project and we took David into our transitional home.

Over the next few weeks, with the help of authorities our social workers amazingly managed to track down David’s uncle who lived in Kampala with is wife and child. David’s uncle and his wife were so delighted to have found him and so glad that he and his mother were safe. With his mother still in hospital, our social workers were able to reunite David with his uncle who has been able to take great care of David and enrol him in school. When parent’s are hospitalised and there is nowhere for their children to go, they can often end up in long term orphanage care in Uganda.

David is now with his own family, loved and taken care of and we hope that his mother will recover very soon.

Your generous support means that we can continue to search for children's families and reintegrate children into loving homes. It also allows us to follow up with these families and continue to support them. Thank you for choosing to make a difference in the lives of children and families in Uganda.