Our aim is to help vulnerable children, families and whole communities to move from just surviving to thriving. We do this both by providing for people’s immediate needs and strengthening their futures through our four core programme areas of feeding, protecting, educating and skilling.
The slums of Kampala, Uganda, where we work are really challenging environments to grow up in. Unemployment is high, sanitation is poor, overcrowding is common and sadly poverty rates are rising. The impacts of the pandemic lockdown are still being felt, and the current cost of living crisis is hitting poor communities the hardest – recently food prices have risen by almost 400%, putting even more pressure on the most vulnerable.
Maria* explained further about how pandemic restrictions led to food shortages.
The food packages helped my family survive the bad days of the lockdown. We are so grateful for all the help given to us.” - Maria* received food parcels for her family during the pandemic
Children and young people are vulnerable to neglect, exploitation and crime, and with the vast majority of adults not having had access to education themselves, the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty is limited.
We are so proud of how we are responding to these challenges, and meeting people’s basic needs when they have nowhere else to turn. During the last year alone, we provided 232,000 meals to families and provided safe spaces and child protection support to over 1000 children.
As one mother recently shared “we had run out of food for a few days now, I had nothing to feed my five children, the food you have given us is more than just a blessing for us...”
Read more in our latest impact report below.
But long term, we want to reduce dependence on our food banks. As we look to the future, we want people to be able to truly thrive, to be able to independent and not need our support. This is where our education and skilling programmes come in, providing people with tools for the future and a means to gain employment and a sustainable income for themselves.
Our Theory of Change below outlines how this works in practise.
We take a holistic approach, ensuring children and families’ basic needs (food, safety) are met so they are able to fully engage with and benefit from education and skills development - to bring about long-term sustainable changes in their lives, and support them to move from surviving to thriving.
Our Theory of Change above also shows how we're meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDG's set by the UN are a collection of seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".
Our work meets the following Sustainable Development Goals:
No Poverty
Zero Hunger
Good Health & Wellbeing
Quality Education
Gender Equality
Clean Water & Sanitation
Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
Find out more about the SDG's by reading our other blog posts:
We have so many incredible stories of people we have supported who have been able to do just that – to move out of poverty thanks to Kids Club Kampala, to move from just surviving to truly thriving. As Beth* explains further.
“Without Kids Club Kampala I would not be going to school. Kids Club Kampala helps me with my school fees and other school requirements like books, school shoes, school bag and uniform. It really encourages me because they always visit me at school and provide the things I need.” Beth*
As part of our Radio 4 Appeal, we will be sharing the amazing example of Annie’s* story. A single mum of 4, she came to us in need of our food bank support, but over the last couple of years her life has been truly transformed since taking part in our tailoring training course.
Annie’s story is going to be featured on BBC Radio 4 Sunday 17th September!
This is a truly inspiring story of someone moving from just surviving to thriving, thanks to the work of Kids Club Kampala.
Please do save the date and listen in when it is broadcast at 7.54am and 21.25pm on Sunday 17th September 2023 or through BBC Sounds online all the following week. Our Radio 4 charity appeal 'Brighter Futures for Families' will be hosted by the fantastic Sheila Atim, a British-Ugandan actress.
"As a British-Ugandan actress, I am very proud to be supporting Kids Club Kampala..." - Sheila Atim
You can hear more about why she is proud to support our Appeal in this special message she shared at the BBC Studios.
We have been on an incredible journey over the last 14 years, from one small project to now supporting over 300,000 vulnerable children and families across 10 communities. This simply would not have been possible without the support from our communities.
To find out more about the BBC Radio 4 Appeal, follow the link below;
*Names have been changed