The Ewafe Project

Ewafe means ‘Where We Belong’ in Luganda, and our Ewafe Project does just that. The project supports abandoned and at-risk children in the slums of Kampala, with the aim of reuniting children with their relatives and reintegrating them with loving families.

The Project

Our Ewafe Project has a model of Rescue, Rehabilitate and Reintegrate with an underlying ethos of finding family care for children. As soon as a child is referred to this project, our team of social workers begin searching for immediate and extended family members, and where possible, put in place reintegration plans to bring these children home. In cases where children are not able to be reunited with their own immediate or extended families, we place them with assessed and trained foster families.

Through placing children who have been abandoned in loving and caring families, their needs are taken care of, and they can have a bright and hopeful future. Upon reintegration we provide each family with a care package including food, clothing and other essential items along with ongoing support from our social workers to ensure that children are thriving.

The context

Sub-Saharan Africa is said to have the highest number of orphans in the world, however up to 90% of these orphans live with a surviving parent, a grandparent or relative.

When a child is placed in an orphanage they become disconnected from their communities and families and begin placing all their trust and self of love into the institution. This weakens the family bond and the chances of reintegrating children back into their families and community becomes increasingly difficult.

This isn’t the only harm of institutionalisation; child development, difficulty forming attachments, reduced psychical growth, a lack of education, and negative self-image are a few of the researched negative impacts.

Our Impact

The Ewafe project transitional home is based in Kalangala and was launched in 2013. Since then (as of the end of 2023) we have rescued 218 children and reintegrated 134 children with families.

Our Ewafe Project aims to reduce the number of children placed in institutions subsequently reducing the number of children harmed by them. Regardless of the child's circumstances, our commitment is to provide an alternative care solution. Instead of children being placed in institutions they are given the opportunity to be reintegrated with their family or we seek suitable foster families to provide family-based care. In the home children are supported with medical care, counselling, play, art therapy and social work support. We aim to find a safe and loving family environment for each child within three months, providing the family with a care package including food, clothing and other essential items along with ongoing support from our social workers to ensure that children are thriving.

Taaliah's Story

Taaliah, 11, was convinced by her friend to run away from home and go to Kampala. Her friend abandoned her after they had reached Kampala leaving Taaliah stranded on the streets before she was admitted to the Ewafe home.Taaliah stayed at Ewafe home for 1 year undergoing rehabilitation while her parents were being traced. The tracing was successfully, done with the help of community leaders like the chairman of Jupanyong- Paidah district and the Child and Family protection unit.

The parents especially the mother, aunties, uncles, siblings were emotional and happy to see Taaliah. At first, the mother couldn’t believe that her daughter had finally come back home:

“I had lost hope because I knew that I would never see my daughter again. I travelled to different areas like Yumbe, Congo, Arua, Koboko searching for my child and I also went to some shrines to see if I could get help locating my daughter. Many people accused me for not taking care of my child but I didn’t listen because I know that I serve a living God who will bring back my child safe and sound. I am grateful to the lord that my daughter has finally come back home. May God bless you abundantly for bringing my child back to me”

How you can help

You can help us reach more vulnerable children by donating to our projects.

Make a donation to support our vital projects today.

Donate here

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The Kids Club Kampala Way

Why we’re different

Our Protecting Programme is part of the way we are uniquely supporting children in Kampala slums survive and thrive.

At Kids Club Kampala, we believe that every child is unique, special and deserves to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Our work is based on a holistic approach, where we focus on meeting the immediate needs of children and families in the slums while empowering them to bring about long-term, sustainable changes in their lives. Our approach encompasses four core project areas: feeding, protecting, educating, and skilling.

These four areas are not siloed; they work together holistically to create a supportive environment for vulnerable children and their families. We firmly believe in a holistic approach, ensuring that children and families have their basic needs met (food, safety) so they can fully engage with and benefit from education and skills development. This approach helps them move from merely surviving to truly thriving, as stated in our theory of change.

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