What We do
mothers of some of our sponsored children
Our Ugandan staff are reaching out to vulnerable children in the slums of Uganda. In particular, we have focus on helping children from the slum of Kikuba Mutwe in Kampala. We work with the appropriate government officials, obtaining necessary papers and getting permission from the parent if one is available. Some of the children who are in our program were being cared for by neighbors and had no home or family. They basically were street children. The international standard of child poverty (UN Convention of the Rights of the Child) applies to children suffering from deprivation in two or more of the following seven dimensions: nutrition, health, water, sanitation, shelter, education and information. These children in the slums of Kampala are at risk for all seven of these poverty indicators. (Situation Analysis of Children in Uganda published by Unicef, 2015) In addition, children under five face a higher incidence of mortality from pneumonia, malaria, diarrhea, and HIV/AIDS.
PROVIDING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
Peter’s Heart seeks to identify children most vulnerable to the realities of life in the slums and help them move to safety. Peter’s Heart enrolls the children in safe, progressive boarding schools, in particular schools that encourage analytic thinking and do not utilize corporal punishment. We provide them with the uniforms and school supplies, and we make sure they have a safe environment when school is in recess (holidays, etc). Ideally, this is with their own family, but often returning to the slums would not be safe, especially for the young girls. If this is the case, our trained mentor Ugandan families will invite the children into their own homes and make them part of the family for the break period. Much effort has been made to keep the children connected to their parents. Even if it does not work out for the children to stay with them in the slum during holidays, arrangements are made for them to visit their children.
Slum conditions are very difficult, with no electricity, no clean water, no indoor plumbing, and crowded conditions. Often up to five or more people staying one-room clay dwellings. Prostitution, substance abuse, and alcoholism are widespread in the slums, and many of the children are from such an environment. Peter's Heart works to protect the children from potential suffering by enabling them to experience safety, provision and healthy family life during these school breaks.
keeping families connected
At present, our program is sponsoring 48 children. We hope to sponsor more children by adding mentor Ugandan families to the team. Our partner, Scripture Union, is helping us to identify possible families, and those that are selected will go through a training program.
Over 50% of the population in Uganda is below 18 years of age, 11.3% are orphans and of those who are orphaned, 46% (1,108,080) have lost their parents through AIDS. The need is great. A survey by the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (Fallon, 2014) estimated that there are 10,000 street children in Uganda--a 70% increase in the number of children on the street since 1993--with approximately 16 new children coming to the Kampala streets each day. (Situation Analysis of Children in Uganda published by Unicef, 2015 p. 70). We at Peter’s Heart are grateful for the opportunity to try to make a difference in some of these children’s lives.