HIV/AIDS pandemic is increasing by affecting the lives of children in Sub Saharan Africa especially east Africa. By 2015, health departments/ministries had reported 4.4 million people leaving with HIV/ADIS IN East Africa and 2.1% orphans under 15 years of age and this kind of phenomenon continues. Despite the awareness being carried out, the HIV infection is still prevalent, high and evidently seen in urban and rural areas of east Africa. Although Treatment programs have been scaled up in East Africa, but access remains low. Punitive laws also act as barriers to HIV services. The crisis has therefore, threatened development activities in past years and years to come as well.
However, children and youths are the most vulnerable since many of them are orphaned or even infected by the disease. This has led to their rights violations since the children and youths do not have a choice especially when they are orphaned. Therefore there is an urgent need to adopt a methodology needed to support these orphans. We see this both as a valuable end in itself and a long term means to promote more cohesive considerate and creative individuals/societies with equal opportunities and rights for all. Therefore in this respect, USSARC is involved in reducing literacy levels through provision of primary education, secondary education and vocational education support/care to orphan and under privileged children and youths.
In order to improve the situation of these children, it’s necessary for families and local communities to contribute either individually or as group to supplement government’s effort and those of other development partners. Therefore, there is need/ a call for both local and international organizations/ communities/ groups/development partners/corporates and private individuals to contribute in order to improve the situation under which these children live and grow. We intend to encourage families, communities and external parties to treat all orphans and other vulnerable children and youths with respect ensuring that they are not treated as helpless victims but as actors in their own rights. They should be entitled to express their own views and be actively involved in matters that relate to them.
CHALLENGES:
Being a local initiative by USSARC, there are quite a lot challenges the organization meets:
- Parents / Guardians do lack resources to make contribution towards the education of these orphaned / vulnerable children and youths.
- Children do lack the required scholastic materials and training materials.
- Most children cannot access proper nutrition which leads to poor health.
- Some of them are HIV positive and chronically sick.
- The organization lacks enough resources and finances.
Become part of these missions by donating $150 per month or once off $1800 per year to facilitate and deliver required needs towards vulnerable orphans across east Africa.
‘’Every child is entitled to a meaningful childhood. But for many children, the reality of childhood is altogether different. They suffer from hunger and homelessness; work in harmful conditions and do not have access to quality education and healthcare. Child rights are fundamental rights of all human beings below the age of 18. These rights apply to every child, irrespective of the child’s race, color, gender, caste, class or religion. ALL children have the right to survive, develop, be protected and participate in decisions that affect them.’’
The project aims at providing primary and secondary and vocational educational services to orphaned and underprivileged children and youths in our community.
PROJECT MISSION:
Provision of high quality education and skills to vulnerable orphans for better resource exploitation, management and control for improved quality of life
PROJECT GOAL:
- To improve the wellbeing of orphaned and underprivileged children and youths.
- To promote primary, secondary and vocational education to AIDS orphaned and other vulnerable children and youths.
- To provide care and support services to these vulnerable children.
- To promote job creation opportunities to the most vulnerable Orphans
- To promote income generating opportunities to the vulnerable Orphans
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
- To access primary, secondary and vocational education to the orphaned and underprivileged children and youths.
- To access the vulnerable children and youths with scholastic materials and other training materials.
- To improve the nutrition of these vulnerable children and youths.
- Prevention of the involvement of these children and youths in commercial sex activities, child domestic labor and other immoral activities.
- To increase capacity in job creation and income generation.
- To promote more cohesive considerate and creative individuals/societies with equal opportunities and rights for all.
- School fees support.
- Scholastic and training materials support.
- Feeding support and basic primary health care support.
- Construction of orphanage homes
TARGET GROUP:
The main target group are the most underprivileged children and youths orphaned /affected by HIV/AIDS of both the urban slum dwellers and rural village homes in the area where we operate. Initially a total of 280 children shall directly benefit from the program with emphasis on the girl-child. The age group of 4-18 years.
GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE:
The program will cover the rural village homes and urban centers all over east Africa
EXPECTED OUT-COME:
- Vulnerable children and youths shall access school fees on a term basis.
- Vulnerable children and youths shall access scholastic and training materials on a termly basis.
- Vulnerable children and youths shall access nutritional foods on daily basis during the study days.
- Vulnerable children and youths shall access basic primary health care and support.
Since the 80’s when the HIV/AIDS was realized in Uganda, it has claimed lives of millions of people and as a result, over 6.5 million children have been left orphaned in Uganda. The distress and depression upon these children is so great that they are put in a position of rejection and self-pity. They suffer from increasing displacement, marginalization, dissolution of family protection and segregation from the community making them feel they are an economic burden thus they fall behind educationally and even socially. This has tended to have lifelong effects on their development leading to a generation of no hope for tomorrow.
Commercial sexual exploitation of children is wide spread and a hidden form of child exploitation both in rural and urban areas in east Africa and is growing at an alarming rate. Child prostitution is the most pronounced form of commercial sexual exploitation of children in East Africa’s urban and semi-urban areas and is dominated by young girls/youths majority of whom are primary seven school dropouts who never attain secondary education and with no skill on their heads. Very young children, particularly those orphaned by HIV/AIDS are actively engaged in commercial sex as a means for survival. More still Uganda is hit by wide spread street children practicing robbery and theft, marijuana smoking and alcoholism to mention but a few.
Their involvement in commercial sex and other immoral behaviors has grave consequences on their health and lives and to the lives of others. Some of these have contraction of HIV/AIDS and STDs. They are victims of physical assault, defilement, rape, drug addiction, unwanted pregnancies, underage motherhood, torture and lack of self-esteem trauma, theft and robbery, crime, rejection and death among others.
There is no question that one of the major problems the AIDS scourge has created for east Africa is the big number of orphans left behind. These orphans and their needs have over the years overwhelmed those who have tried to assist them. Most times they are left in the hands of relatives who are struggling to keep their own immediate families from starving. Subsequently, when the relative can no longer cope up, the orphans suffer most and in terms of education the guardians do care for their only legitimate sons and daughters, this has contributed to the increasing number of street kids roaming in the city and other towns. The rest of these Children and Youth end up in child domestic labor service and prostitution, other children are left in the hands of their grandparents who are aged and cannot contribute anything towards the wellbeing of these orphaned children.
USSARC assists communities by helping them with some required needs as part of donation. We strive to create more employment opportunities for the communities, contributing to the needy social organizations is our priority.