Community Centre
We are committed to more solidarity with children and families in Uganda, whose living conditions are difficult.
What is happening at the HiH Association's community and training centre in Nkoni?
1. Orphanage
The house was completed in 2014 and has a total of 7 rooms. There is a boy's and a girl's dormitory, an office, rooms for the children's caregivers and for the manager with her two sons. In another building there is the kitchen wing with kitchen, dining room, storage, and a small cellar.
The originally planned primary use as a COMMUNITY CENTRE had to be quickly adapted to the local conditions. Due to the large number of (AIDS) orphans and children from extremely poor family backgrounds, it has now become primarily an orphanage in which up to 50 children are looked after, cared for and taken seriously. They enjoy a "family life" with good care and have a balanced and varied diet.
In addition, their medical help is provided in case of illness. On average, everyone has 6-8 malaria infections per year (without mosquito net). Untreated malaria is often fatal for children.
Ms. Nakajigo is very involved in the selection of different, suitable schools and training courses adapted to individual needs and abilities. At first, the children were small, but in the meantime some of them have already started vocational training.
Four girls and boys are currently training to become nurses, one is becoming a mechanic and two girls have already graduated as housekeepers. One boy started in 20218 to study agriculture and veterinary medicine. If the children want it, the Association supports in finding employment in the projects.
2. Encounters
Almost 90% of Uganda's population lives in rural areas.The people there are very poor, mostly without own income. Often the children live with grandparents or relatives because their parents have died (HIV infection rate: 5-15% (2017), AIDS orphans about 17% of the population). The literacy rate is 73.9% (2015) (66.9% for women, 80.8% for men).
The community centre is therefore also intended to create a "platform" for the entire population of the village. The goal is to enhance the living conditions of the local people through meetings, information, trainings, films, books (library) and festivals.
3. Agriculture
The large agricultural area belonging to the house is currently used to supply the residents of the HiH Centre. In the future, the cultivation of the fields is to be carried out more and more ecologically. Bananas, beans, corn, (sweet) potatoes, peanuts, coffee, and many other plants are grown. During harvest seasons, neighbors are employed and paid.
4. Sustainability
Solar
Two solar panels and two batteries cover almost all the centre's energy needs.
Water
With the help of various tanks for collecting rainwater and a pond, the water supply is secured. In the meantime, two wells have been made available to the village (see Projects – Water).
Afforestation
A large plot of land near the community centre is available for reforestation with native trees (see Projects - Afforestation).
5. Employment contracts
Eight employees are currently employed by the Association in Uganda and are remunerated with salaries that can be expanded. However, all of them are very satisfied to receive a task and a regular income.
6. Sanitary Pads
At the beginning of 2018, a project to produce sanitary pads for girls and young women was launched. Commercially available sanitary pads are not affordable for most women in Uganda. This leads to up to 25% school absenteeism among girls. A trainer trained 30 participants in the Hand in Hand community centre for a weekend to teach how to make these reusable pads on one’s own. This extraordinary event was very well received and became a real highlight for the participants accompanied by cozy, shared meals. Our manager on site expressed the desire to repeat this. The contribution of about 200 euros for material, food and trainer was definitely worth it.
7. Medical Aid
In February 2018, a medical aid project has been launched in the community centre to provide medical care to the villagers. Once a week, a registered nurse from a nearby local hospital examines and treats children and villagers. Initially, it is mainly about vaccinations, nutritional counseling, family counseling, etc. For this purpose, a tent was purchased and equipped with the necessary furniture, but also with a treatment table, scales and waiting chairs. The medication for these "basic treatments" is provided by the government of Uganda. Hand in Hand für Uganda e.V. has therefore also received a permit from the Association to carry out this project. The nurse receives an expense allowance, reimbursement of transport costs and food.
8. Women's Group – Microcredits
Sporadically, meetings and training sessions of the women's group "Women in Development" (see Projects - Microcredits) take place.
The training and community centre in Nkoni is ready to be moved in
Mrs. Betty Nakajigo, the project manager of the Association, and her 6-month-old son Jimmy are scheduled to move in in about 2 – 4 weeks.
Ms. Nakajigo moves into a living room and bedroom as well as the study (office). A young girl, Jenny, is temporarily hired to take care of the little one, to cook and to clean (she is paid by Mrs. Nakajigo), gets another small room. Initially, meals are served in the entrance area (common room). Later, a dining room is to be set up in the kitchen building.
One room and the designated classroom will be equipped with beds and will initially provide accommodation for some AIDS orphan girls and boys, who are now completely without caregivers. A room that is still empty will be used according to the needs.
Especially the veranda is available for the regular get-togethers and trainings of the women's group.
In May 2013, the Association applied to "Sternstunden" to take over the financing of the kitchen wing. In the case of the completely self-sufficient power supply through a solar system, practical (and possibly also financial) help from "Engineers Without Borders" was assured.
However, the Association urgently needs funds to equip the rooms with beds and mattresses, a table with chairs, plastic chairs for the veranda, a desk and chair and some crockery.
Please help with your donation to be able to start the rapid operation of the community center for the village of Nkoni. Every amount, no matter how small, is important and tax deductible.
Training and Community Centre
Nkoni/Nabyewanga is a small town near Masaka. The people who live here are very poor, there are hardly any jobs and only one primary school. The catchment area comprises three villages, with a total of about 450 families or 2,352 people, of whom 1,600 are children under the age of 15, 17% of whom are half- or full orphans. The HIV rate in Uganda is around 6.5%.
On an approx. 16,000 square meter plot of land purchased by the Association, a training and community center for the villagers is now to be created through the construction of a house.
The construction is to be divided into several construction phases. Initially, a residential building was built with an office for the Association, a living room for the local management and a large bedroom for eight orphans. The veranda in front of it can be used as meeting or get-together areas for different groups, e.g. to organize training courses for women on various topics, such as family planning, financial management, etc. Classrooms for kindergarten, preschool and primary school are to be built in stages. In the outdoor area, a sports field and a model farm are planned, for which a young man is already training to become a farmer.
The Association is currently able to finance the shell of this first construction phase with approx. 7,000 euros and is making every effort to find further sponsors. Donations to betterplace.org should be able to pay for the roof of the house.
Since there are a lot of individual services to be performed, every small amount counts and helps to realize the construction faster. Please help to bring hope to the small village of Nabyewanga, to support the families to become independent, to raise confident and healthy children and to give a chance to those whose opportunities are so unjustifiably different from ours. Together, we can contribute to greater justice in this world.