Social Protection, Human Rights, Gender & Good Governance

Social Protection for Orphans, OVC and People with Disabilities, Human Rights, Gender and Good Governance

Caritas K-MD has always served the most vulnerable in society and will continue to do so in an effort to complement SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 and 16. In particular, Caritas works with persons with disabilities (PWDs), orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), women and the elderly to help empower them meet their basic needs in difficult surroundings.

Two programs currently run under this thematic area: the Horizont3000 Program (funded by Horizont3000) implemented in Kassanda District — Bukuya, Kassanda and Kalwana Sub Counties; and the OVC Care Project (funded by the Brabec family, Nebraska USA) implemented in Mityana and Gomba Districts.

Program Objectives

Increased school enrolment, retention and completion for OVC/CWDs
Increased income for vulnerable families
Increased number of meals taken per day by OVC and PWDs households
Reduced number of child abuse and domestic violence cases
Increased access to essential health services for CWDs/PWDs, OVC and their households

Education Support — Results

A total of 2,045 children (1,799 OVC and 246 CWDs) have been enrolled in school — 1,097 girls and 948 boys. The department pays tuition and provides scholastic materials including uniforms, books, pens, pencils and sanitary pads on a termly basis.

Of the 2,045 sponsored children, 1,911 have completed a level of education: Primary (1,009), O-Level (762), A-Level (107) and Tertiary (33).

Vocational Training — Results

244 children (153 OVC and 91 CWDs) — 154 girls and 90 boys — were enrolled in vocational training covering tailoring, hairdressing, computer studies, motor vehicle repairs and other disciplines. All 244 graduates received start-up kits (sewing machines, salon equipment, tool boxes) and are now gainfully employed.

Mobility Devices

74 mobility/assistive devices were distributed to PWDs — 53 females and 21 males — enabling CWDs to attend school and adults to engage in productive activities.

2023–2027 Goals for Social Protection

Enrol 700 OVC/CWDs in formal and informal education — paying tuition and providing scholastic materials
Form 22 groups of Women/PWD/OVC/CWD caretakers and impart vocational skills
Distribute 200 pigs and 150 goats to OVC/CWD households for income generation
Form 20 new VSLAs among vulnerable households
Train 700 OVC/CWD caretakers in Sustainable Agricultural Practices
Support 50 PWD households in establishing banana gardens
Organise sensitisation meetings on human rights, gender equality and GBV across all 32 Parishes
Construct customised pit latrines for selected PWD households

Stories of Hope & Transformation

Real lives changed through the Horizont3000 Program

Mubiru Delvis attending to drying coffee — Caritas Mityana

Mubiru Delvis attending to the drying coffee in the courtyard

Ms. Nabakiibi Allen & Mubiru Delvis: From Abandonment to Belonging

Mubiru Delvis (7 years) is the third born to Mr. Kizito Edrine and Ms. Nabakiibi Allen, residents of Kijjukira Village, Bukuya Sub County in Kassanda District. Delvis has multiple disabilities — both physical and mental — and as such is unable to join formal education.

Before joining the Program, Delvis's uneducated parents lived a peasantry lifestyle with no formal job to support their four children. The mother sold labour in people's gardens while the father laid clay bricks for sale. Indeed, the couple was in a dire situation, failing to take good care of their children including the disabled Delvis. In the worst-case scenario, Delvis had been abandoned by the parents, for they believed he was a curse to the family.

After enrollment onto the Horizont3000 Program in 2023, Ms. Nabakiibi joined God's Grace Caretakers' Group where she attended trainings in child nutrition, proper child care for children with disabilities (CWDs), child rights, and vocational skilling — including making herbal jerry Vaseline and bookmaking.

Allen's household is also benefiting from the established group's income-generating activities. The family was provided with 100 banana suckers to establish a banana garden for household food security promotion. Likewise, the family received working capital worth UGX 230,000 (approx. €59), which Allen used to set up a petty business — earning the family daily income.

The family has saved some income and also began trading in coffee, which they buy from farmers and sell to the coffee factory in the area at a profit. Because Delvis is unable to attend school, he spends much of his time at home attending to the drying coffee in the courtyard.

Additionally, the family received a pig in 2024 after being trained in proper piggery production. Although Delvis is unable to claw into the pig sty to care for the pigs, he enjoys seeing them eating and has been often seen throwing potato stems to the young ones. He wears a beautiful smile when he sees them chewing, while his brother attends to them. The pig has so far farrowed twice, and the family earns income from the sale of piglets at UGX 100,000 (approx. €26) each.

With the income earned, the couple is now able to take two of their children to school and also meet the other household basic needs. They wholeheartedly applaud the piggery project because it has earned them a reliable source of income.

Mubiru Delvis with family — Caritas Mityana

Mubiru Delvis with pig — Caritas Mityana

Mubiru Delvis family activities — Caritas Mityana

Kayanja Samuel with his piglet — Caritas Mityana

Kayanja Samuel tending to his family's piggery project

Kayanja Samuel & Raymond Ssebulime: From Dream Interrupted to Dream Renewed

Kayanja Samuel (13 years) enjoyed attending school with a big dream of becoming a medical doctor. Little did he know that his dream would partially fade in 2020 when his parents — Mr. Zziwa Birungi Edward and Ms. Nabadda Juliet, residents of Kalongo Village, Bukuya Sub County in Kassanda District — welcomed a new baby brother, Raymond Ssebulime, born with a physical disability.

Besides Raymond, Samuel has three more brothers and three sisters. Given the high medical bills required to keep Raymond alive and to care for the household's basic needs, versus the family's financial constraints, in 2022 Samuel's parents ordered him to quit schooling when he had just been promoted to Primary Five. He was then tasked to babysit his disabled brother Raymond in addition to tending goats. Indeed, Samuel's dream had vanished into thin air.

When Ms. Nabadda Juliet (Samuel's mother) was enrolled onto the Horizont3000 Program in 2022, she joined God's Grace Caretakers Group. She also encouraged her husband to join, and the couple attended all trainings administered to the group, becoming very active members.

During a training session in Piggery Production, the couple realised the benefit of rearing pigs over goat production in terms of the multiplier effect. They became passionate about piggery production with a view of widening their household source of income. In addition to the 100 banana suckers received under the food security promotion campaign, they were given a pig. The family took good care of the pig — with Kayanja Samuel taking the lead as the farm manager.

Their pig has so far farrowed twice, and they have taken on piggery production as a key part of their household income. With the income earned:

The family has been able to meet Raymond's medical bills
Raymond has been enrolled at Chance for the Children Nursery and Primary School — a school for children with disabilities — in Middle Class
Kayanja Samuel was relieved from babysitting duties and has resumed his education journey
Samuel is now in Primary Six and still pursuing his dream of becoming a medical doctor
The family collects farmyard manure from the pig sty and applies it in their banana garden, boosting soil fertility and crop yields

The family is now zealous about piggery production, given the multiple benefits realised. This is the power of community empowerment combined with social protection — transforming not just livelihoods, but futures.