Educate Vulnerable Children in Rural E. Uganda

RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT NETWORK (RWEN)
FEBRUARY 2017 REPORT

Area of coverage:
Busia, Bugiri, Amonikakinei and Tororo

Enrolments:
Group No.
Rwen Busia 300
Bugiri 165
Tororo 86
Amonikakinei 84

Total 645

Area of support

Nursery education, primary education, secondary education, technical education and university education
Care for OVC (Orphans and other vulnerable children) including childring living with HIV and AIDS
Scholastic materials, uniforms, fees and fees top up in the center schools, health, referrals, child day celebrations and psychosocial support.

Performance

All our children go to school and the performance for the supported children for all the levels was good at the end of 2016. Most children were promoted to their next levels of learning for 2017.
The different groups as mentioned ensure that children keep healthy. The HIV positive children are given support and continuous counseling. These children get their drugs in time. Where possible the counselors take drugs at their homes. Women make sure these children go to school.

Scholastic material support

These materials like exercise books, pens, pencils, rulers are provided for their learning and other necessary materials using funds from River fund.
Uniforms and sometimes shoes and sandals are given to all the children that the project supports
Fees/fees top up- to some very needy especially child headed families, we pay fees for them and we pay the top ups for secondary OVCs and other top demands like P.T.A. For primary children we also pay for their tests, exam fees. At University level we still have one girl who is in her second year of study.

Center schools

At our center school, we support 150 children from nursery to primary seven. Other children in different schools also get support.
We feed our children with mid day meals at their places of learning i.e. at the center and at their places of learning. The children are fed on porridge, beans and posho.
     *Note from The River Fund: Posho (Uganda), often called ugali is a dish made of maize flour, millet flour, or Sorghum flour cooked in boiling liquid to a porridge- or dough-like consistency. It is the most common staple starch featured in the local cuisines of the African Great Lakes region and Southern Africa. When ugali is made from another starch, it is usually given a specific regional name.

Health

We make sure our children keep healthy. The HIV/AIDS parents grow crops of balanced diet for their children at homes from the seeds we provide like beans, maize and green vegetables.

Referrals

The center school children are referred to a community library owned by an NGO PHOEBE EDUCATION FUND for reading lessons at all the levels and all our children of support in the nearby schools do the same during their free time even during holidays. Primary, secondary go for studies. This is a big achievement to our children.
We have 2 children in technical education and 1 child is heading the family and on top of that he is HIV positive. He does brick laying and concrete practice course. The other also does the same course.
We have a child’s day in every group where children meet and share ideas. It is a day to celebrate as children.

Developments so far:

All our children go to school.
We support children from nursery to university level.
There is great interest in learning in our children.
The communities where these children stay admire the children.
Our children look healthy and those who are HIV positive have no stigma.
There is continuous counseling to our children.

Challenges

Child headed families stay in poor shelters.
The food is very expensive due to long droughts.
Fees for university level is very high and cannot support many.
Counselors have a problem of transport to reach them for drugs and counseling.