In Uganda, there is a great concern that too much of the aid given to our orphaned children comes in the form of institutional care that removes them from their families. A family's choice to put a child in an orphanage can feel very much like they are giving up ties to raising a girl or boy who is dearly loved, due to economic hardship. New regulations are just being put in place now by the government to try to reverse that trend and to keep children tied to their communities.
At BiZoHa, with the help of our generous donors from around the world, we are able to make the offer to provide orphans in the community with a nurturing caregiver, a safe environment, comfortable shelter, good food, clean water, health care at our clinic, and a science-and-reason-based education during school terms. Then, during school holidays, children may return to their relatives and caregivers in the local community whenever safely possible to ensure that they feel part of a family unit. In cases where we might have concerns about the safety of the home environment, we would dialogue with the family, the community development officer and social workers to address the situation.
Our health clinic will remain open year round providing health care and educational programs to the community. We also plan in the future to offer outdoor activities and vocational skills training for our orphans during holidays, and may periodically offer items such as soap, sugar, clothes, and shoes to our sponsored families during holidays when the children are with them.
“The probation Officer appreciated my works and gave me a go ahead to run the orphanage ...
He said with the new laws in force, our orphanage will be a model for other new orphanages to cherish as the Ugandan government wants the orphans to have a sense of belonging community wise.
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We have received the probational go-ahead to open on September 7, 2015 from our local government office, who are viewing favorably our impact on the communities we serve. In addition to hosteling orphans, we are working to establish the Bizoha Campus of the Kasese Humanist Primary School at the site, where we expect to provide science-based education to up to 200 local children on a tuition basis beginning next school year. We are planning as well to build additional hostel space to board additional orphans based on the community having approx 13% of children orphaned by at least one parent, many of whom would otherwise be at great risk. We offer opportunities to support both our hostel orphans, and our family-based orphans at the school.
We would welcome your support!
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
School terms in Uganda are as follows:
Several of the newest governmental brochures regarding improving the services for orphans and other vulnerable children in Uganda.
The recent letter on file with the Muhokya Community Development Officer. Note that our first plan was to open for 8 orphans to start, but due to serious community needs we are expanding that number to accommodate up to 16 children if we get the sponsors.
Thank you for your interest in our program. Please contact info@bizoha.org if we can help answer any questions for you.