We first came to Uganda in 2001 and were based in Mukono in the South, not too far from Kampala. We now have a second mission which is based at Pabo Internally Displaced Peoples’ Camp in the North West of the country.

Uganda

• Support and education for orphans and vulnerable children.

• Rehabilitation facilities and services for children with disabilities.

HIV/AIDS is still very prevalent in Uganda. There is still a stigma attached to the disease and people are reluctant to verify their status and seek treatment. The number of very ill people is high and while nursing care is a necessary service, of equal importance, is counselling/pastoral care of those living with HIV/AIDS.

• Income generating projects to assist HIV positive persons and their families, with a special emphasis on orphans and vulnerable children.

• Training of members of the local community in Counselling and Pastoral Care to support elderly people and people living with HIV/AIDS and related illnesses.

• Adult literacy and skills training for the empowerment of women.

• Training of Care Givers to provide Home Based Care for terminally ill people.

• Support for abandoned elderly people

• Micro-Finance Projects - Though these small business endeavours, communities are able to finance education for orphans and vulnerable children.

At the Internally Displaced Peoples’ Camp in Pabo, we have set up a community based organisation known as Women and Children First (WACFO). WACFO is totally committed to sustainable development and community empowerment.  We work with people living with HIV/AIDS, the many young people who have not had an opportunity to receive post-primary education and also the many elderly and disabled people who are simply abandoned.  In recent times people are beginning to move away from the camp and into new Transit Camps with a view to eventually being able to return home. We are now training Home Based Care/Pastoral Care Givers in many of these new transit camps.

In Uganda we rely heavily on solar power for daily living e.g., lighting, cooking and heating water.