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The Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project - Budaka,
Uganda
This
project has recently been approved by Indigo’s
Management Committee following a scoping visit to Budaka,
Uganda by Ian Seal from December 2008 to February 2009.
Ian met with small, local community-based organisations,
national and international NGOs, schools, families and
representatives of local and national governments in
order to investigate possible support for orphans and
vulnerable children in Budaka. Budaka district has more
than 6,000 orphans in its 160,000 population, due largely
to the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, compounded by
high levels of absolute poverty, lack of health and
education infrastructure, and inattention from international
development-focused NGOs.
Context
The
Budaka District of South-Eastern Uganda was established
in 2006, and was formerly part of the Pallisa District.
It has eight sub-counties including one town council.
There are 16 community health facilities, none of which
formally qualify for hospital status. Budaka, as with
the rest of Uganda, has recovered slowly from the years
of the Idi Amin dictatorship, in which the majority
of community and government infrastructure was destroyed.
Budaka is now politically and socially stable, and supports
numbers of internally displaced people escaping the
civil war with the Lord’s Resistance Army in the
north of the country.
A
survey of known orphans in one sub-county of Budaka
found that more than 20% of them were HIV positive.
There are a small number of "child-headed households",
in which the oldest member of the household is still
a minor, and many more vulnerable and under-supported
families in which the heads of household are either
elderly and infirm or HIV positive and unwell. There
are, conservatively, 6,000 orphans in Budaka. The Budaka
District Plan for Orphans and other Vulnerable Children
reports that the vast majority of these orphans and
those who care for them receive no formal support from
either government or NGOs. Furthermore, there is currently
no coordinating mechanism or data base of services and
supports that are delivered, or any accurate census
of numbers of orphans / households in need.
The
need for child protection infrastructure and support
is recognised in local government policy, but funding
constraints and lack of infrastructure (including professional
training and support) means that there is no functioning
child protection system. The pressure on families due
to the large number of orphans has led to significant
neglect of many children, both physically and emotionally.
Partner
since: 2009
Project Manager: Ian Seal
Management Committee representative: Mary Mertin-Ryan
Funding: initially $1200 to support four community-based
organisations
The
Project
The
intent of the project is to focus on capacity building
for the care and support of orphans and other vulnerable
children in local community-based organisations and
schools, through technical and policy support, training
and resourcing; and by building opportunities for orphans
and other vulnerable children, and their carers, to
participate actively in decision making and community
activity.
Ian
will make a return visit in April 2010 but meanwhile
a Commitment Agreement has been drawn up to provide
initial funding support to four community based organisations
(CBOs) which have a primary focus on supporting families
and individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. These groups operate
with no budget, extremely limited resources, no training
and no organisational or capacity building support.
Volunteers within these groups, many of whom are HIV
positive themselves, are eager to provide support through
their organisations to orphans and other vulnerable
children across the district, but struggle with their
capacity and financial limitations, and the enormity
of their task. Each group is registered and has a nominal
relationship with local government, but is not provided
with any financial or other formal support. The initial
funds are to be used for the purchase and use of items
such as sporting equipment, bicycle repairs, costumes
for HIV prevention theatre productions, books, etc.
These items were identified by the CBOs as important
in their work.
_________________________________________________________________
Indigo
Project Manger for Uganda is Ian Seal, Ian
can be contacted c/- indigo.foundation@bigpond.com
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