Sponsor's update from Kakiri, Uganda

Child sponsorship update from the SOS Children's Village Kakiri, Uganda from Summer 2008.

Hearty greetings from the entire family of SOS Children Uganda.

We hope you are enjoying the warmth and brightness that comes with the summer. Back here, it has been a bit rainy lately and temperatures have somewhat gone down but nevertheless life in the village has gone by seemingly well, thanks to your support and generosity. Once again, we are happy to bring you news on your favourite SOS Children’s Village in Kakiri. We hope this will spice up your summer.

New children join the village
Our family continues to grow bigger each year; almost 30 children have joined the village since late last year to replace the youth who moved on to the youth houses. Thankfully they have also fully settled in their families and are really enjoying their stay there. Most amazing of all is the reception the new children received on their arrival. They were welcomed with hugs and ululations by the rest of the children who were happy to have them as their new siblings. This warm welcome helped the new children adjust faster, they are also happy to have got a place they can call home. One of the youngest children who joined House 13 is really being treated like a little prince; most of the time his siblings want to carry him and participate in bathing him. He surely feels special because of the affection he has got from the family.

Youth updates
Early this year, a total of 14 children moved on to the family house to the youth houses. To help them prepare for this change, the Village Director and Youth Leaders normally engaged them in several activities when they were still in the family houses. This was aimed at helping them familiarize with the life in the youth houses. Change doesn’t always come that easy, even after being settled in the youth facility, some youth would often go back to their family houses to spend time with their siblings and mothers, but they are all now fully settled in the house. On the other hand two youth, Yoana and Godfrey completed Form six and are now awaiting entry to the university. We are hopeful that they shall be admitted as they were able to obtain four principle passes in their final examinations. In addition 2 youth girls Robinah and Annet also completed Form four at high school. They have decided to pursue vocational studies in certificates in cosmetology and secretarial studies. This will equip them with practical skills that will enable them fend for themselves in the future.

Supporting children in Kakiri, Uganda

Participation at the HIV/Aids conference
Uganda as a nation continues to struggle against the spread and prevalence of HIV/ AIDS epidemic. Last month, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in the nation came together for the 5th National Aids Conference under the theme ‘Meaningful child participation: evidence from the field’. SOS Children Uganda took part and the only child who was given an opportunity to make a presentation at the conference came from SOS Children’s Village Kakiri. Joseph came across as a confident and passionate speaker who made remarks that left the participants in great amazement. One of the local dailies described him as an inspiring boy not older than 14 years who was able to address a conference of participants most of them older than him. Joseph, on behalf of the children, presented their views to all stake holders present and on to went make recommendations that Anti Retroviral Therapy should be given to the children free of charge, a suggestion that members present applauded. This received much publicity in the local media. As a result, most of the children in the village have been inspired to take on the challenge of representing their fellow children whenever an opportunity arises.

FSP expands
In January this year, the Family Strengthening Programme expanded its area of operation by another parish known as Buwanuka. Baseline studies were made late last year and this was followed by family development plans which were completed this year. These plans will be a very helpful guide as the programme managers try to intervene into the beneficiaries’ current situation and make it better. Already, beneficiaries have been given high yielding seeds which they will plant to ensure food security in their homes. Members of the FSP Committee, which is totally comprised of the locals, have been facilitated with bicycles to enable easier movement as they reach out to the community, especially when carrying our sensitization in the areas of family planning, voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) among others. For the few months that the programme has been there, there is already news about transformation in the parish. Livelihoods are being improved and most exciting for the children is them being able to access education services. This gives them hope for a brighter future.

Children growing up in Kakiri, Uganda

UGATRA (Uganda Austrian Transfer)
Quite a number of people visit Kakiri every year and sometimes these friends come with ideas that are of value to the children as well as the surrounding community. This time round, we were privileged to host a group of students from the University of Applied Arts Austria. They held an art and educational project between Austrian and Ugandan artists that was transcultural and participative. The children, most of whom are students at the SOS School, were happy to interact with the Austrian students for almost two weeks. They learnt several art skills for example in textile and animation. One of the participating students commented that ‘I didn’t know that making cartoons on TV was this simple’. This was after he successfully made a presentation at the German Cultural Centre on the topic of animations. At the end of the workshop many of the students had made their own pieces and were given free space to exhibit them at the German Cultural Centre. In addition to new skills acquired the students also were awarded certificates of participation. This has since made the children even keener on art.

Debates
In addition, children have participated in a number of child protection workshops which have further enhanced their awareness in the areas of causes and prevention of child abuse. Following this, debates were held between the Grade 5 and Grade 6 pupils and also Grade 4 and Grade 5 pupils (these range between ages 10-12 years). The motion was ‘Parents protection verses self protection’. Many of the children opted for self protection which encompasses prevention from abuse by avoiding the company of bad peer groups, inappropriate dressing and environments that could lead to rape or defilement among others. Such activities have made us realize that the children are gradually becoming more aware of child protection as well as their need to be responsible for their own safety. Other workshops are being organised for the new children in the village on child protection.

Challenges
Much as we have enjoyed the smooth running of the village, we have been interrupted by the recent power cuts which sometimes make our work more difficult. Thankfully, the generator has been very helpful during these times but as fuel prices continue to increase, we can only run it for a few hours to enable us save some for the next day.

Generally, all has gone on well in the village and we look forward to providing you with more updates later this year.

As I close off, I wish to thank you once again for your tireless support towards SOS Children’s Village Kakiri. Best wishes in all your endeavours.

Yours truly,

Sheila Bukirwa
Sponsorship Coordinator