Background
The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country situated in eastern Africa, west of Kenya. After years of human rights abuses under the rule of Idi Amin the military dictator between 1971-1979 and the returning rule of Milton Obote in 1980 as well as the ‘Ugandan Bush War’ (1981-1986) southern Uganda has reclaimed relative peace and stability following Yoweri Museveni’s election in 1986.
Northern Uganda is still suffering from terrorisation by the militia group, the ‘Lord’s Resistance Army’ (LRA).
The LRA has been active in Uganda for over twenty years and is one of Africa’s most brutal rebellions. The activities by the LRA have resulted in the death of 500,000 people, the displacement of 1.6 million people and the capture of tens of thousands of people.
Child abduction is a primary concern relating to the LRA’s operations, with it estimated that at least 25,000 children adducted and forced to become child soldiers.
HART and the Orphan Rehabilitation centre in Patongo, Northern Uganda
In 2006, upon visiting and examining the needs of the area, HART found sufficient evidence of acute shortages of water, food, sanitation and health care. At this time, 95% of the population were forced to live in appalling conditions inevitable from extremely congested displacement camps. Significantly, the threat to local children is so severe; thousands of children commute every night to ‘Night Shelters’ to avoid abduction. They were all desperate for education, but could not afford fees.
Within the context of dislocated communities, many children were left abandoned as traditionally, orphaned infants in African communities would be cared for by the local communities.
Consequential to the acquirement of funding for three years from a generous donor, in 2007 HART began to support the development of an Orphan Rehabilitation centre in Patongo. From this time, the centre has cared for and protected orphan infants aged 0-5 years, who would otherwise be faced with neglect, starvation and disease.
This centre offers these children the opportunity to grow into healthy and loved children through providing education and health care. The centre consisting of a main residential building, a pharmacy, a store room and administration offices operates as a model of cost-effective and care-effective aid not previously known in this part of Uganda.
HART’s policy of working with local partners to enable local ownership and capacity-building allows donations to reach further than imagined due to the offerings given by those in the local community. For example, in this instance of the Orphan Rehabilitation centre, the local people gave their own land free of charge and a large enough site to enable vegetables to be grown and to educate the children in local agricultural practices. This will allow the children a nutritionally rich diet but additionally provide surplus to be sold for profit to be in-turn used for the benefit of the children.
In addition to offering child health care and education to date, the centre has provided education to parents and guardians on the transmission of HIV and primary health care as well as child nutrition, using the resources and networks within the local community to foster awareness and understanding.
However, following the signing of a permanent cease-fire in February 2008 by the LRA and the Ugandan government, people are now leaving the displaced camps and returning home. Structures are gradually becoming re-instated within strengthened communities, reducing the need for the residential facility at the rehabilitation centre.
This being so, presently, the residential element within the centre has entirely ceased with the concentration directed towards supporting community care of orphans and the education of the children and their guardians.
In partnership with Dr. Abbas, one of the two doctors in the local Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) caring for persons with a variety of complaints, including HIV, it has been decided that the present centre is to be developed as a specialist centre for the care of children HIV positive, or at risk.
It is concerning that as the enrolment of HIV adults increases, there is little comparable enrolment of children, highlighting the inadequate provisions for the diagnosis and treatment of HIV positive, or at risk children.
It is believed the proposed specialist centre will develop into a unique facility for the whole region.
HART, Uganda and the Future
HART is intending to request the third year’s funding for the present project as planned. This third year will commence in June 2009 and will continue to work firstly with community workers caring for orphaned children and secondly using the centre during the day for education and supervision of children.
It is HART’s intention to have by May 2009 a 10-year financial plan devised for the intended Paediatric HIV/AIDS centre. This financial plan will be produced in collaboration with local medical partners and will ideally be implemented in June 2010 at the end of the secured funding.
Along with the third and final year’s funding from the present donor, HART intends to seek financial support to enable:
the development of the present centre as a paediatric HIV/AIDS centre in line with the proposed 10 year plan, outlined above.
Project update
As a result of massive starvation that has recently struck the region, coupled with poor livelihoods, a pilot project on seed multiplication (Ground nuts and Banana sucker), Agro forestry (to regenerate the environment) and bee keeping has been launched in Gulu, Uganda.
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