The Kichwamba Children’s Foundation was founded in 2011 with the goal of supporting the education, health, wellbeing, and empowerment of at-risk children in the rural western Uganda.
Context
Uganda’s rural poverty rate is 78%, with almost half of the population living on less than $1.90 USD / day. Almost 80% of the country lack access to sanitation and over 60% lack access to electricity. Children in Uganda, particularly those without parents or stable family structures, are enormously vulnerable and face tremendous health and safety risks as well as extremely limited opportunities.
The Kichwamba Children’s Foundation is located in a remote area at the base of the Rwenzori Mountains (which separate Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo). The closest town, Fort Portal, is approximately 30km away, and has a population of roughly 60,000 people. There are no roads, water systems, or electricity beyond Fort Portal. The Kichwamba Children’s Foundation can only be accessed via unpaved, dirt tracks…with access being very difficult during the rainy season.
KCF’s Work
The Kichwamba Children’s Foundation supports vulnerable children in the Kichwamba and surrounding Kabarole area. We provide shelter, food, clothing, health and medical care, nutrition, loving guidance, support, and schooling for children in our care, all of whom come from extremely high-risk backgrounds and face dire circumstances.
We make sure children in our care have everything they require to meet their physical, developmental, and emotional needs. We also focus on creating opportunities for them to break the cycle of poverty and become independent, thriving adults. Every child is given support to attain the highest possible level of schooling they can, and is then provided with vocational training in a skilled trade that can directly translate to employment and self-sufficiency.
We also ensure that the organization is able to create meaningful business opportunities that not only provide employment to its former beneficiaries, but also support the surrounding communities (e.g. KCF operates a barbershop, a solar charging stations, etc.). We also provide food and supplies to particularly needy local families, and our children undertake regular community service to give back to the Kichwamba village.
KCF’s Success
Since its creation in 2011, KCF has helped almost 70 children with housing, education, support and employment training, with over 90% of our beneficiaries having gone on to find gainful employment. We have a wide array of truly inspirational success stories, with past beneficiaries now working as doctors, chefs at hotels and foreign embassies, mechanics, tour guides, hair dressers, shop owners, and more. We are immensely proud of all of our beneficiaries, current and former – each one is, and will always remain, a special member of the KCF family.
KCF’s Team
KCF is managed by an incredible team of local experts, led by its Director, Benjamin, a former High School Principal and aid worker, and its Coordinator, Angella, who has a degree in community social work and is an expert in nonprofit management. Day-to-day operations are overseen by managers in Australia and the U.S. (with careful planning, oversight, daily check-ins and frequent in-person visits).
Support KCF Today
If you would like to help this project transform the lives of the most vulnerable children in rural Uganda, please donate by clicking on the “Donate to this Project” button on this page. Every contribution makes a difference! For more information see our website.
