Community Support Programs

Slum Outreach Programs

Street children in the slums of Kampala face numerous hardships and challenges every day. They lack families, food, clothing, clean water, sanitation facilities, shelter, health care, and education.

These children come from a variety of backgrounds - they are orphans of Uganda’s civil wars and armed conflict, victims of the AIDS epidemic, from families pushed out by rural-urban mitigation, and runaways suffering from abusive or poverty-stricken families.

The children are constantly at risk of child labor, exposure, hunger and malnutrition, abuse, corruption, hopelessness, infections, and disease. Many of them escape through drugs to numb both physical and emotional pain. They use it as an escape from past trauma, fear, depression, and to cope with the hardships of daily life on the streets.

All these children, under different circumstances, would have the opportunity to succeed. They are smart, funny, talented, and ambitious and it is our goal to give them that opportunity.

PCA identifies vulnerable children living on the streets who face these challenges. We then offer them the opportunity to join in a biweekly outreach program at the Kisenyi community center.

Once there the children can bathe, receive medical treatment, counseling, food, clean water, clothing, education services, religions services, art classes, and more. The slum outreach program’s mission is to fill the gaps for every child and to rescue poor families by empowering them with skills.

Support for at Risk Youth

The PCA Drop-in center is the second step in rehabilitation for homeless children. It is a day program located within walking distance from the center of the Kisenyi slum where the children live on the streets.

Children who have performed well in the Slum Outreach program are invited to join the Drop-in Center.

The Drop-in Center is 100% voluntary but most of the children who begin the program stay. It provides a safe haven away from the hardships of the streets during the daytime hours.

Athletics

The children also engage in sports programs. Athletics is a key part of PCA’s mission. Keeping the children active keeps them off the streets, healthy and away from drugs. It also helps the kids realize their abilities.

Education

PCA has a full-time staff of teachers and volunteers to teach the children math, language, geography, history, and more. Classes are available to the children 5 days a week at the drop-in center.

PCA also works to find sponsors to provide kids with education resources and send them to government schools.

Food

PCA prepares porridge in the morning before classes & pasha (maise based starch) with beans in the afternoon for all of its beneficiaries. We also run food programs for children with the slum itself and teach the children health and nutrition.

Transitional Children’s Housing

The PCA transitional home provides the next level of rehabilitation for children who we are able to get sponsored. Once space and funds become available children are invited to live in our transitional home where full rehabilitation can occur. This includes enrolling and placing children into formal government education.

Getting the children into a formal school allows them to integrate into the community and gain a sense of belonging. A strong education is one of the most important things we can offer the children.

Having a stable home provides the children with companionship, family, and a sense of belonging.

There is also a counseling program from elders who used to live on the streets. This involves dance, crafts, culture, music, and empowerment programs to help build self-esteem and drive character development.

Hygiene & Health Care

Good personal hygiene is essential to keeping the children healthy and safe. Unfortunately, the slums are filled with garbage, open sewage, and wastewater and has no sanitary facilities or running water. PCA provides showers and baths for the children to keep them clean, safe, and healthy.

It is also PCA’s mission to educate them on the importance of personal hygiene.

PCA’s medical staff consists of volunteers and full-time staff members. PCA provides wellness checks, nutritional help, first aid, illness treatment, and wound care.

When possible, we sponsor and support hospital care for children with life and limb threatening injuries and illnesses.

Medical supplies are expensive and hard to come by in the areas in which we work which means that they are constantly in short supply.

We are always seeking donors and sponsor for medical supplies please reach out if you or someone you know is interested in helping.

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Rural and Urban Farming Programs

Access to food and is critical to help families and children in poverty live a healthy life and advance their opportunities. PCA trains community members in and around Kampala in modern farming methods for both rural and urban farming.

A large focus is on irrigation farming techniques to help residents carry on with farming activities even during the dry seasons.

PCA worked with The Global Livingston Institute at Entusi to learn best practices for sustainable farming in Uganda.

Family Resettlement

When possible, we aim to locate each child’s family and resettle them back home if the environment is safe and it is in the best interest of the child.

Shoemaking, Sewing & Entrepreneurship Programs

More information coming soon.