Stopping child abandonment in Uganda

Thank you for all of your support for Kids Club Kampala over 2019 - we have had a fantastic year and could not have done it without you! It has been a year of change and a year of growth and also a year of celebration - most notably celebrating our 10 year anniversary this summer! 

In January 2019, partly thanks to a grant received from UK Aid (the UK Government’s De3partment for International Development), we expanded our Early Education for All project to Naguru slum community. Naguru slum is home to over 10,000 people, the majority who live in abject poverty and lack basic services. Since January, we have provided free education and a hot daily meal to 300 children every day in this community, the majority of whom have never been to school before and are unlikely to have another opportunity to learn. Alongside this, we have built new toilets in this community for the children, and we have been providing women with vocational skills through running tailoring and hairdressing courses.

In July, heavy rains and widespread flooding badly damaged our community classroom in Katanga slum, which is a safe haven for hundreds of vulnerable children who come every day to receive free education, a hot meal, hope and love. Heavy rains in early The foundations of the building were partly washed away causing subsidence and broken windows, and a leaking roof and the overflowing of a sewage channel that runs alongside the classroom meant that we were sadly forced to close the classroom. In August, we launched an emergency fundraising appeal to raise the money to fix the classroom and enable children to learn in a safe environment once again. We amazingly reached our target and by the beginning of October the classroom was reopened as is even bigger and better than before! As we raised more than our target we were also able to buy some new tables and chairs which has made a big difference to children’s learning too.

Whilst working in the slums, Kids Club Kampala discovered that many children were becoming lost, abandoned, orphaned or even becoming victims of abuse or trafficking. The Ewafe Project was started in 2013 to address this growing problem. Our Ewafe project helps children who have been abandoned, provides them with emergency help and a safe place to live, whilst searching for and reuniting children with their families. To date the project has rescued 75 children and reintegrated 49 with all children being provided with counselling, support and medical care and rehabilitation. To date, of the 75 children who have been rescued by the Ewafe project: 18 were missing children; 15 were abandoned due to parental mental health; 12 were abandoned through family breakdown; 12 were victims of abuse; 7 were abandoned through family homelessness; 6 were rescued from illegal orphanages and 5 were rescued from child labour. To date, we have we have so far reintegrated 49 children: 44 of those have been resettled with family members; 4 children are in the resettlement process and will be going to live with family members in the next few weeks; and 1 child is in long- term foster care.

Olivia, UK Director and Nicole, Charity Development Manager went to Uganda in October. Nothing beats visiting Uganda and spending time with the children, listening to their stories and seeing the projects in the flesh. This was the first time in two years that Olivia went to Uganda and she is really excited to return to see all the developments since her last visit in 2017. Here’s what they had to say about their trip:

Olivia: "It was such a joy to be back in Uganda and it was incredible to see all of the progress and development of our projects and to catch up with our fantastic staff and volunteer team. Seeing the difference that people's donations are making in vulnerable children's lives - there is no greater feeling!".
Nicole:  "It was absolutely amazing to be back in Uganda and it was even better to see our projects go from strength to strength particularly our new Katanga classroom and the Ewafe home . I'm so proud of the work of all our staff and volunteers in Uganda and it's great to come back to the UK with a renewed passion and  focus. 

In June we resettled an abandoned child with our first ever foster family. Gemma* was 8 when her mother became very unwell and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. As a result, Gemma was at risk of homelessness, so in 2018 she came to stay at the Ewafe home. The hope was that Gemma's mum would recover but sadly a year passed and her mother was still unable to offer Gemma the consistent care that she needs. With no other family options, we found a loving Ugandan family and took them through the process of becoming approved foster carers. In June the final approval and placement took place and Gemma moved in with her new family! This family 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. Gemma is also going to start attending school again, and is able to have continued contact with her mum.

This year we have had 18 new people join us as Child Sponsors, 7 new Regular Givers and 223 new one-off donors! Together we have held 28 events across the year, with 25 volunteers supporting our work. We have had 12 international volunteers heading out to Uganda and 5 new interns working with us in the UK office. This year we have partnered with 15 churches, 8 schools, 2 corporate companies and numerous other community groups.

Happy New Year everyone and we hope you can support us to change more lives in Uganda in 2020.