
Protecting

More than 8 million children in Uganda are considered to be vulnerable to harm. Our projects focus on keeping children and young people safe and protecting their childhoods.
We provide safe spaces and fun activities for children to have respite and play. We work with specially trained volunteers and counsellors on safeguarding projects with teens, working with the community to identify vulnerable, at-risk children. Our Ewafe Home offers emergency help and a safe place to live to at-risk children, while also working to reunite them with their relatives.
Why child protection matters
Kampala’s slums are notorious for drug and alcohol abuse and violent crime, poor sanitation and abject poverty. Children are often left unsupervised during the day while their parents try to make a living, and without a daily purpose or safe space to go these children become even more at risk.
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Girls growing up in the slums are particularly vulnerable. Worldwide, girls are more likely to drop out of school, earn less, have poor health, and live in poverty. They’re often overlooked and less empowered to fulfil their potential. Growing up without education hinders a girl’s future life choices and their ability to break the cycle of poverty. This means that they are more exposed to risky situations and people who exploit their vulnerability.
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Uganda has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the world, with 1 in 4 teenage girls becoming pregnant before they are 19. Nearly 1 in 2 girls in Uganda are married before the age of 18, and around 2.4 million are engaged in child labour. Girls and young women in Kampala’s slums are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, early or forced marriage and HIV infection.
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Lack of skills, opportunities, empowerment and self-esteem often makes young women feel that they have no choice but to engage in early child marriage, gang violence, prostitution or other risky behaviour.

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Saturday Kids Clubs
Our Saturday Kids Clubs provide children with a safe space and the chance to play and enjoy being children, away from the challenges and struggles of their everyday lives. Here, children can come and have fun, talk about their struggles or worries and receive love and attention...
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Girls Support Groups
Investing in adolescent girls is crucial for alleviating poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and addressing other factors that put girls at risk. We aim to empower teenage girls and create safer communities for young women from Uganda’s slums...
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Our Football Project for teenage boys gives them a safe space to belong and support each other, while being mentored both on and off the pitch. Young boys, especially those who do not go to school, have very few options for engaging in positive activities...
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The Ewafe Project
Ewafe means ‘Where We Belong’ in Luganda. This project supports abandoned and at-risk children in the slums of Kampala. The project offers emergency help and a safe place to live, while also working towards reuniting children with their relatives and reintegrating them with loving families...
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