ORPHANS WIDOWS

Busoga Association





	AIDS ORPHANS AND WIDOWS SUPPORT PROGRAM. (AOWSP)

SUMMARY.

Uganda has for the past years suffered political instability, turmoil, economic mismanagement, and the scourge of AIDS, all leading to severe devastation of social services. This program was started to particularly help and support families, which have been affected due these problems and most especially HIV/AIDS.

Busoga Association (BUA) is committed to through this program to meet the essential needs of the parentless children and widows living with the HIV virus. And we is committed to raise the next generation of Ugandan leaders, as children are Uganda’s greatest resource.

This program is dependent upon offering physical, emotional and spiritual care to the affected families.

WHAT WE HAVE DONE THOUGH THIS PROGRAM (AOWSP).

This program was established in BUA in 2000 after realizing the need of the desperate families suffering as a result of HIV/AIDS in the rural communities. Due to the financial constraints we started by registering orphans to be supported to go back to school and attain formal education. Over 156 children who have lost one or both parents were but only 35 are fully supported to get formal education.

In some schools and communities sensitization programs have been conducted to create early awareness about the facts on HIV/AIDS.

PROBLEMS AND CONSTRAINTS.

The organization is facing quite a lot of problems and challenges in this program as it tries to support those who are most needy in the community as a result of HIV/AIDS;

	Lack of funding to fully accomplish our set goals and objectives,
	Lack of transport for movement in the rural communities to offer home based care to the affected families,
	Lack funds to support the staff working under this program, etc….

WHY WE CARE.

PROBLEM STATEMENT.

Uganda has for the past years suffered political instability, turmoil, economic mismanagement and diseases all leading to severe devastation of social services. Hundreds of lives have been lost through these conflicts hence leaving behind many parentless children and widows.

The 1991 population and housing census indicated that Uganda has a total of 1.5 million orphans accounting for 15.4% of the population. Of this total 115,000 (7.7%) were orphaned by AIDS. Children’s vulnerability therefore begins long before their parents die.

Decline in child welfare at household level manifests itself through out the long and costly illness through loss of income and psychological trauma. Most of these orphans have lost either one or both parents. And here the problem of extended families comes in whereby these parentless children are taken over by another family relative who also has many children to look after.

Where the extended family structures/guardians are unable to take over care and support for these orphans, they are left to be headed by the elder children in the family as young as 12 years. In consequence children orphaned by AIDS lack the basic necessities like; food, clothing, permanent shelter, health care, tuition and scholastic materials to continue with formal and/or vocational education.

The social consequences are very serious that more children on the streets and increased child mortality and illiteracy rates in the coming years. In the urban areas more than half of the hospital beds are occupied by persons with AIDS.

Mark and Richard praying with 'aids widows'

Because AIDS affects people at their most productive age, it has the following effects on society and the economy;

Many professional service providers i.e. teachers, doctors, managers, technicians, etc are from the work force,
Families, employers, and nations have invested in a generation which is being devastated by AIDs,
The agricultural sector which is the backbone of Uganda’s economy will be seriously affected because people’s ability to work will be limited by sickness or the need to for the sick family members, or to attend funerals of family members and neighbors,
In the business sector, estimates indicate that one out of every seven workers is HIV/AIDS positive and projections indicate that in five years it will be one out of four workers will be affected.

OUR PLAN (JANUARY 2002 – DECEMBER 2003).

In order to fully help and support people in the rural communities through this program, BUDA has compiled a two years work plan through which it will accomplish its mission and purpose of existence.

OVERALL GOAL.

Busoga Association, aims at ensuring the wellbeing of children and widows and generally families facing welfare problems. Through the AIDS Orphans and Widows Support Program (AOWSP), the organization will accomplish its goal through the following objectives;

OBJECTIVES.

To offer formal and vocational education to orphans.

About 80% of the children, who lose one or both parents, cannot afford to support themselves to continue with formal or vocational education. Through this objective, the AOWSP supports the needy orphans with tuition fees, scholastic materials (books, pens, pencils, uniforms etc…) so as to enable them attain education for their benefit in future.

Many children lose their parents when they are at a very young age that they cannot even do any work to raise funds to meet their daily needs i.e. food, medical care, clothing, tuition fees, etc. And due to the rate of poverty mainly in the rural areas, even the earn so little but with a lot of needs that they cannot make saves for their children before they die.

Therefore, in order to stop these children form going to the streets to become street children hence getting involved in unlawful acts and a burden to the communities, through this program we are committed to help fund their educational needs and their day-to-day needs.

To offer counseling, medical and material support to the affected families.

Home to home visits to the affected families are carried out to offer counseling and material support to the HIV/AIDS patients and to the children. The community workers talk to the patients and advise them on how they can live positively with the virus. Parents living with the virus are also supported and taught on how they can prepare for their families before they die.

In those homes where the breadwinner (father) or both parents have died, we give some material support (Soap, sugar, food, clothing, bedding, etc…), so that they can be able to continue with life as they used to.

In order to ensure that these families have food, we support them through the Agricultural Extension and Food Security Program (AEFSP). They are given free improved seeds, agricultural implements, and some help to care for their gardens (weeding, land clearing for planting etc…). Food storage facilities are also constructed to enable the families have proper storage of their food.

To provide permanent shelter through construction of single family dwellings for the HV/AIDS affected families.

Lack of permanent shelter is one of the problems faced by the families in the rural areas. Most families live in small semi-permanent houses, which need regular maintenance normally done by the men in the home. Since most children are left when they are too young, they cannot manage to do regular maintenance of the house. Therefore, through this objective, the organization intends to construct permanent dwellings for the affected families.

To carry out HIV/AIDS sensitization meetings in villages, schools and higher institutions of learning.

Prevention is cheaper (better) than cure. The HIV/AIDS sensitization programs in the villages and schools help the people to be aware of the AIDS epidemic, its causes, how it infects human life, and how to avoid it. This activity is centered in the rural areas where access to information about this epidemic is very limited. Many people in the villages are still ignorant about this disease and the rate of infection is very high due to their ignorance.

Therefore, through this program, we sensitize people both the young and the old, so that they can aware of this dangerous and deadly disease.

To involve People living With AIDS in Income Generating Activities (IGAs).

Teach a man how to fish than feeding him with fish every day. Through this program we are going to train and fund People Living with HIV/AIDS and their families in income generating activities. Our major aim in this objective is to see that the families affected by HIV/AIDS epidemic become self-supporting. This will help them to be able to meet about 75% of their needs and the organization will be supporting them with 25%.

TARGET GROUP.

This program is intended to help and support children (orphans) and widows as a result of HIV/AIDS. Given the ethnic mixture that has been caused by wars, famine, diseases etc… all children and widows regardless of ones ethnic background, shall get equal support from the organization.

EXPECTED RESULTS.

On completion of the two years planned activities, the organization anticipates the following results;

	Increased awareness about HIV/AIDS & STDs in the communities and schools
	41 trainers (Community based Social Workers) will be trained to remain in their communities as resourceful people hence capacity building at the grassroots,
	Over 25 families will be supported to get permanent houses where to live with good sanitation and living conditions,
	Through proper and timely medical care, the People Living with AIDS will have their lives prolonged hence able to plan for their families before they die.
	Orphans will be able to sustain them selves after they complete their vocational training skills.
	People Living With AIDS will be self sufficient after being trained and funded to start Income Generating Activities in their homes etc…

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