Uganda's government is committed to reducing poverty and improving the livelihood of its citizens. However, the country is recovering from 20 years of armed civil conflict in the north and has been impacted heavily by the AIDS epidemic. Close to 15 percent of all Ugandan children have been orphaned. There is great need for outside assistance to ease the impact of such a stark reality. Though a number of humanitarian groups are working in the country, almost all aid is focused on resettling displaced persons returning to the north.
The children served at House of Hope are living in extremely impoverished conditions. In most cases, nutritious meals and hygiene are not provided at home, and medical issues large and small go unattended. Until now, tuition fees have kept these children from attending government-run schools in the area, leaving them with no constructive or structured daily activity.
The Dormitory
Like elsewhere in Uganda, most elders in the Masaka district have taken in orphaned grandchildren and other neglected children as they are able. However, not all children are receiving adult care; of the 100 children currently attending the Action School, seventeen come from child run households where the caregiver is 14 years old or younger.
The directors at House of Hope are urgently asking for help to build a small dormitory for children enrolled in its program who are severely neglected, abused or residing in child-run households. House of Hope and its U.S. partner, World Action for Humanity, are working to raise $14,000 to build this important addition to the program.
Annual Costs of Most Urgent Needs:
Dormitory for at-risk and abused children:........ $14,000
Food for 100 students: ........ $11,000
($1,800 raised to date from U.S. donors)
Curriculum, textbooks, reading guides:........ $500
Doors for existing classrooms (four):........ $270
Shared Desks for existing classrooms:........ $550
Basic Medical Care........ $365
Teachers salaries........ $3,000
World Action for Humanity (WAH) is a small, all-volunteer effort based in San Francisco, California working to raise awareness and resources for projects serving vulnerable and orphaned children in Africa.
WAH partnered with House of Hope in April of 2007 and has since raised 15 percent of the Action School’s budget. WAH is a California public benefit corporation with federal 501c3 tax exemption status; all donations made through WAH in support of its projects are tax deductible. House of Hope is not affiliated with any other organization in Uganda; it is a community-based initiative focused on providing the most basic human rights to the children it serves.
