The Situation At Hand in Uganda
In Uganda, the majority of families are below the poverty line and children from these families suffer a lot. Especially, these children suffer from various diseases which are very dangerous considering that they don’t have access to effective care and treatment. This includes children born with HIV|AIDs whose parents are unable to access ARVs on a daily basis. For children born with other diseases like sickle-cell anaemia and polio, treatment is very expensive and some government hospitals lack proper medication and infrastructure. Disabled children lack access to supporting equipment like wheelchairs, walking sticks etc. or are unable to afford those and are hence denied a normal life. The expenses incurred for children in poor families to acquire basic education is very expensive because of the school requirements and other basic needs for school. Moreover, young girls after puberty are prone to skipping school due to lack of Basic Menstrual necessities like Sanitary Towels and the lack of money to do so, which negatively affects their school performance.
Our Engagement Strategy
★ The Caring Hand Project by WDF targets the less privileged children in different communities like infants, children with disabilities, teenage children, street children, orphans among others. Orphans and vulnerable children around Uganda need to be especially protected and we aim at bringing a smile of satisfaction by providing them with basic needs as well as including them under the Child Protection programme to cater for their ongoing needs such as education, food, clothing and shelter.
At the root of this is empowering parents, children and community leaders as a way of sensitizing them on child protection, need for child education and against immoral acts which can destroy the future of children. We have designed programs aimed at empowering children through the provision of quality education, health care, food, shelter, access to clean and safe water and ensuring the general well being of the children as well as their guardians.
What We Do
● Training parents and Guardians on the benefits of good health and education for children through Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Trainings
● Creating strong relationships between parents and children through Parental Child Focused Trainings
● Providing simple hands-on training to children, e.g., how to make different and adorable handcrafts like table mats, table clothes, glass mats, decorations among others.
What makes this project unique is that it addresses child health from the perspective of prevention. When we focus on health, it is important to think about not just treatment but also how to prevent diseases and illnesses and hence the need to seek care and mental theraphy.
Our Impact So Far
• We have so far impacted Over 45 direct beneficiaries at different Children's Homes who are mainly vulnerable children.
• To advance the mission of the Caring Hand Initiative, we plan to increase awareness of its cause by promoting sponsorship/fundraising on social media platforms. Such funds will be used to support a child’s health, education, and living condition in the form of health equipment and supplies, scholastic materials, clothes, and shelter.
• The construction of a new home for children is in progress, but more funds are needed. Creating marketing materials, such as digital flyers and social media posts, as well as expanding our network with partner organizations are necessary to meet this objective.