Poverty, diseases, rape and incest; domestic violence and rapid urbanization all contribute to a huge number of children being abandoned, neglected and abused in Uganda.
There is no welfare safety net and the support traditionally provided by the extended family has been eroded by HIV/AIDS, poverty and war.
Historically, at-risk children are placed in long term institutional care which rarely even meet their most basic needs and inhibit their mental and physical development. A rule of thumb is that for every three months that a young child resides in an institution, they lose one month of development. (Families, Not Orphanages J. Williamson and A. Greenberg)
We want to give families another choice – to keep their children. We want children grow up loved and cherished with a sense of belonging in a family instead of growing up as an orphan.
we make families, not orphans
