 The Body Shop at Home Spring Live! was an epic success; with consultants raising an incredible £65,209 in just a day. More than double the previous record total last September. The Body Shop at Home’s Spring Live! event gathered 2,400 like minded entrepreneurial consultants to celebrate 25 years of the business and 25 years of female empowerment. Along with raffle tickets and t-shirts, our team were armed with over 5000 goody bags, filled with products generously donated by The Body Shop. At an astonishing rate of selling one bag per second, every bag was sold in record time. Together, this all helped to raise an absolutely whopping £65,209 in just one day. This is more than double the previous record fundraising total from September’s Christmas Conference.
The goody bags were packed in record time last week, with the help of a fantastic group of volunteers in Littlehampton who gave two days of their time to put them all together. Our Executive Director, Ben shared good news from our projects in Uganda, with an update about our work in Wandago slum. Last February, Ben showed some clips from a tour we were taken on by children living in Wandago slum. They told us about the well they had to walk to for water, and the fact that many girls had been victims of rape and sexual assault when visiting there alone. Jjust a year later, our Child Protection Team in Wandago is fully established and have spent time working with the community to ensure that no-one travels to the well by themselves. There have been no attacks since. Ben also celebrated Children on the Edge’s new Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre in Wandago, which opened last week, thanks to the fundraising efforts of The Body Shop At Home. The children are settling in well to their new colourful classrooms and our three new teachers, Leila, Faith and Prossy (pictured below) are delighted to have welcomed the children into the start of term. We hope the new Centre will replicate the success seen at our ECD Centre in Loco. Keep an eye on our Latest Stories for updates.
This was the first time we had the support from 64 new Children on the Edge Ambassadors (pictured above helping to sell goody bags) from The Body Shop, who helped to sell goody bags and raffle tickets and then launched their 2019 fundraising challenge. They will be sharing updates and ideas on how raise money with their regional teams. We’re excited to see what they can raise throughout the year. Our Fundraising Manager, Eloise Armstrong said: ‘We are completely blown away by the generosity, passion and commitment to Children on the Edge shown by The Body Shop At Home consultants. The record fundraising total from Spring Conference is more than we could have ever imagined’. ‘The support we receive from The Body Shop At Home is absolutely vital, not only to carry on Anita’s legacy, but more importantly, to create safe spaces for vulnerable children in Uganda and empower other women across the globe to transform their communities’. As you can see, support from The Body Shop At Home continues to change lives. Thank you to all those who are supporting us to continue this work, especially those who bought a goody bag, t-shirt, raffle tickets, or donated at the weekend and helped us to raise such a phenomenal amount of money. You can support us throughout the year by making a regular donation, organising a fundraising event or by taking on a challenge. If you are a consultant from The Body Shop At Home and you'd like to find out how to get more involved with fundraising, please email tbsah@childrenontheedge.org. For 25 years, The Body Shop At Home have supported Children on the Edge raising over £1.3 million and helping create safe places for vulnerable children around the world. The Body Shop and Children on the Edge have worked together since Dame Anita Roddick founded the charity in 1990. In her mission to prove that business could be a force for good, Dame Anita Roddick created a whole new way of thinking about trade and the beauty industry. Find out more.
 Less than two months away from the opening date of our new Early Childhood Development Centre in Wandago, Uganda, we look at how we developed a model for best practice and why we’re ready to replicate. The model we have created together with Children on the Edge Africa in Loco Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre, has been developed in partnership with Madrasa ECD Programme, who have over 25 years of experience in developing an approach that makes a real difference in children’s cognitive development and later success in school. In conjunction with our own 28 years of experience working with vulnerable children and the use of our Child Protection Team model, this approach has produced a successful blueprint of best practice ECD, that is ready to replicate to new and different areas. Supporting around 70 children aged 3-6 a year, the Centre is currently being considered for designation as a centre for excellence in the Eastern Region.  'Speech Days' in Loco allow children to celebrate their achievements and inspire the community to get involved.
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| 1. Community ownership Loco Child Protection Team (CPT) work to identify the most vulnerable households, ensuring their children benefit from education. They encourage local families on the importance of education through a number of events (see photos above), meetings and celebrations, provide small business loans and support parents throughout the term, ensuring high retention rates. 2. Local culture Teachers work to establish which language is most commonly used amongst Centre intake and adapt materials accordingly. They draw upon available local resources through all areas of teaching and learning, and focus on the strengths of local culture and values. | 3. Quality child friendly curriculum We use the Ugandan ECD Framework which was developed in consultation with UNICEF and Madrasa, which is a detailed curriculum of five core areas and an assessment framework to ensure children are learning and developing. Instead of rote learning, a regular day at the Centre will feature songs, dances, craft and games. 4. Health and socialisation The Centre helps children to deal with routines, develop great friendships and improve behaviour so they can transition well to primary school. Regular health checks pick up concerns including malnutrition, which is addressed by the provision of high calorie porridge and nutritious snacks. Children arrive clean and washed and teachers focus on health and hygiene with songs, rhymes and regular hand washing routines. |
Learning is child friendly, creative and focusses on building self esteem.
It has resulted in improved:
| 1. Educational progress We have seen core skills and learning improve significantly, with primary school teachers reporting that where young children previously started at primary school with no reading or writing knowledge and no means of coping within a classroom environment, now they arrive prepared to learn at the right level. 2. Valuing of education The relationship between the teachers and the Loco CPT has yielded tremendous results in terms of attendance, with regular meetings encouraging parents on the importance of their children’s education. | 3. Child Protection Child Protection Teams have been key in ensuring that child protection cases are followed up, bridging the gap between the Centre and the parents. They follow up on cases identified by the teachers and often make home visits to ensure children are safe. 4. Health and Socialisation After a few months of being at the Centre, children were visibly clean and healthy, despite being on the edge of malnutrition when they started. The external evaluation also identified huge progress with the socialisation of the children, with a teacher reporting that “Children’s discipline has changed. The way our children behave is not the way other children in the community who don’t access ECD or who attend other ECD Centres behave”. |
 Learning about Ugandan culture. |  Nutritious snacks at the Centre. |
Participating at Sports Day and winning the Trophy!
Having proved how effective it is, this model is now being replicated in neighbouring Wandago community, set to open in February. We are also actively fundraising in 2019 to work with Madrasa and ‘Youth Initiative’ in developing a model ECD Centre for refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the Kyaka II refugee settlements.
We are hopeful that over time, this model Centre will become a training centre where Congolese teachers from this area can come to learn and develop their teaching skills, and improve the quality of early childhood education for refugee children across the region.
We are hopeful that over time, this model Centre will become a training centre where Congolese teachers from this area can come to learn and develop their teaching skills, and improve the quality of early childhood education for refugee children across the region.
For the last 18 months, since the success of our pilot education loans in Masese II, the Child Protection Teams (CPTs) we support in Uganda have been expanding the scheme in Loco, Masese I and Masese III.
Education loans are small business loans given via the CPTs to the most vulnerable households, enabling them to create a source of income which covers the costs of providing for their children and sending them to school.
After the most needy households are identified, people are invited to attend a series of training workshops, which include a focus on saving, small business training and opportunities to form self help groups.
These ‘education loans’ have gone from strength to strength, with an external evaluation in September 2017 stating how loans have ”boosted the economic capacity of respective households to meet their needs such as education, food [and] medical care…”
To receive the loan, a prospective business owner will make a business plan and write an application with support from the CPT. They are given a timeframe within which to pay it back, by which time they have a thriving business, a child in school and a good knowledge of how to manage their own finances.
The external report included feedback from many recipients including a mother from Masese III who said “I thank God for bringing Children on the Edge, because I was really struggling but they gave me 200,000 Ugandan shillings and I am now able to educate my children, buy books, feed my children and even pay rent. Although there has been a problem with hunger in the community, my situation has not been as bad as it would have been without Children on the Edge support. That capital helped me to start a small business where I sell tomatoes and silver fish”.
Repaid loans are then available to be passed on to someone else in need. With recipients paying a little interest, the loan pot can gradually grow, in order to help an increasing number of households. The repayment of the loan with a little interest also teaches business and budgeting skills, rather than dependency, and makes the fund itself sustainable.
A community evaluation of the ‘Most Significant Changes’ in the area, facilitated in January 2018 showed how the development of a ‘savings culture’ had significantly improved the financial status of those involved. Robina from Masese II described how “I was able to start saving as well as reserve some money to send my five children to school, provide them with basic needs and scholastic materials. So basically I am happy because my children are back to school and I can provide for the family needs as a single parent.”
The workshops introduce the benefits of saving and give hints and tips on how to put money aside, even through times of financial stress. Each person attending has a trial period of demonstrating they can save money and budget, before they are given their first loan.
Over 90 people are currently participating in the loan scheme, nearly half of whom are supporting five or more children. Not only have over half these people increased their savings, but an incredible 92% have reported that they are now able to feed their children twice a day. 93% are also now able to send their children to school, maintaining regular attendance.
Find out more about the difference these loans make in people’s lives by reading Lydia and Irene’s stories. Just click their images below:
Education loans are small business loans given via the CPTs to the most vulnerable households, enabling them to create a source of income which covers the costs of providing for their children and sending them to school.
After the most needy households are identified, people are invited to attend a series of training workshops, which include a focus on saving, small business training and opportunities to form self help groups.
These ‘education loans’ have gone from strength to strength, with an external evaluation in September 2017 stating how loans have ”boosted the economic capacity of respective households to meet their needs such as education, food [and] medical care…”
To receive the loan, a prospective business owner will make a business plan and write an application with support from the CPT. They are given a timeframe within which to pay it back, by which time they have a thriving business, a child in school and a good knowledge of how to manage their own finances.
The external report included feedback from many recipients including a mother from Masese III who said “I thank God for bringing Children on the Edge, because I was really struggling but they gave me 200,000 Ugandan shillings and I am now able to educate my children, buy books, feed my children and even pay rent. Although there has been a problem with hunger in the community, my situation has not been as bad as it would have been without Children on the Edge support. That capital helped me to start a small business where I sell tomatoes and silver fish”.
Repaid loans are then available to be passed on to someone else in need. With recipients paying a little interest, the loan pot can gradually grow, in order to help an increasing number of households. The repayment of the loan with a little interest also teaches business and budgeting skills, rather than dependency, and makes the fund itself sustainable.
A community evaluation of the ‘Most Significant Changes’ in the area, facilitated in January 2018 showed how the development of a ‘savings culture’ had significantly improved the financial status of those involved. Robina from Masese II described how “I was able to start saving as well as reserve some money to send my five children to school, provide them with basic needs and scholastic materials. So basically I am happy because my children are back to school and I can provide for the family needs as a single parent.”
The workshops introduce the benefits of saving and give hints and tips on how to put money aside, even through times of financial stress. Each person attending has a trial period of demonstrating they can save money and budget, before they are given their first loan.
Over 90 people are currently participating in the loan scheme, nearly half of whom are supporting five or more children. Not only have over half these people increased their savings, but an incredible 92% have reported that they are now able to feed their children twice a day. 93% are also now able to send their children to school, maintaining regular attendance.
Find out more about the difference these loans make in people’s lives by reading Lydia and Irene’s stories. Just click their images below:
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Currently, the most popular type of venture from our loan scheme are vegetable businesses, with over a quarter of all loan participants starting up stalls. One of these business owners is Irene, who is 60 years old and a grandmother responsible for three orphaned children.
She used to live alone after her two children grew up and left to start their own families. She mainly survived on the support her son Godfrey provided, though once in a while she did casual work like laundry or helping in people’s fields to earn some extra income. Through this time, she always had an idea of starting up a vegetable business, but had limited funds which weren’t sufficient enough even for her basic needs.
Tragically, her son Godfrey died, and Irene took on his children, as their mother had divorced Godfrey and disappeared a few years before. At this time, Irene realised that she had not only had the responsibility of taking care of these children, but with her son gone, she was the only earner.
Despite her interest in starting up a vegetable business, she was still limited by a lack of capital. During this crisis she began to talk with Joyce, who had started her own business through the Children on the Edge education loan programme. She introduced Irene to the local Child Protection Team, who in turn introduced her to the loans officer.
After an assessment, Irene was was given a loan of 200,000 Ugandan shillings, which she used to start up the long wished for vegetable stall beside her house. Edwin Wanabe, Programme Director for Children on the Edge Africa said “Irene’s business is doing well. It is from this that she is able to provide for her grandchildren’s basic needs and education. She is very grateful for the great support given to her. She often expresses her joy by telling our loan’s officer how she has hope that, through the business, her grandchildren have a provider, who has stepped into their father’s shoes since he’s gone”.
She used to live alone after her two children grew up and left to start their own families. She mainly survived on the support her son Godfrey provided, though once in a while she did casual work like laundry or helping in people’s fields to earn some extra income. Through this time, she always had an idea of starting up a vegetable business, but had limited funds which weren’t sufficient enough even for her basic needs.
Tragically, her son Godfrey died, and Irene took on his children, as their mother had divorced Godfrey and disappeared a few years before. At this time, Irene realised that she had not only had the responsibility of taking care of these children, but with her son gone, she was the only earner.
Despite her interest in starting up a vegetable business, she was still limited by a lack of capital. During this crisis she began to talk with Joyce, who had started her own business through the Children on the Edge education loan programme. She introduced Irene to the local Child Protection Team, who in turn introduced her to the loans officer.
After an assessment, Irene was was given a loan of 200,000 Ugandan shillings, which she used to start up the long wished for vegetable stall beside her house. Edwin Wanabe, Programme Director for Children on the Edge Africa said “Irene’s business is doing well. It is from this that she is able to provide for her grandchildren’s basic needs and education. She is very grateful for the great support given to her. She often expresses her joy by telling our loan’s officer how she has hope that, through the business, her grandchildren have a provider, who has stepped into their father’s shoes since he’s gone”.
Lydia is a member of Masese I Child Protection Team (CPT), who had a thriving banana (Matooke) business, which her family relied on. Sadly her situation took a turn for the worse, when her husband was involved in a serious accident which left him bedridden, leaving Lydia as the only earner.
For a time all her profits had to go towards his medical treatment, which suffocated the business and caused Lydia to begin to lose hope. Through talks with her fellow CPT members, our social worker and the loans officer, she was encouraged to apply for a loan to invest into her collapsing trade.
The loan soon reawakened her profits, enabling her to not only pay her husband’s treatment costs, but also take care of the household needs and pay school fees for her children.
Lydia said “I am extremely happy that amidst the challenges that befall me, I still picked up courage and invested the loan money in my struggling Matooke business, which was almost collapsing. This enabled me grow my business from buying two bunches to four, and I am really grateful because this has uplifted my household income”.
For a time all her profits had to go towards his medical treatment, which suffocated the business and caused Lydia to begin to lose hope. Through talks with her fellow CPT members, our social worker and the loans officer, she was encouraged to apply for a loan to invest into her collapsing trade.
The loan soon reawakened her profits, enabling her to not only pay her husband’s treatment costs, but also take care of the household needs and pay school fees for her children.
Lydia said “I am extremely happy that amidst the challenges that befall me, I still picked up courage and invested the loan money in my struggling Matooke business, which was almost collapsing. This enabled me grow my business from buying two bunches to four, and I am really grateful because this has uplifted my household income”.
| When a young 17-year-old mother in Uganda had a visitor to her Masese III home, she was having a normal morning caring for her new baby. Agnes’ boy was just a month old and she was still getting used to looking after him. The lady arrived in her doorway, acting like an old friend. Neighbours said that she had been looking for a girl that had just had a baby, so they assumed it must be Agnes. The woman said she wanted to change some money and didn’t know where, so she asked Agnes to go and change it for her, promising that she would give some of the money as a gift for the baby. Agnes left the baby in the house and went to change the money. Whilst she was gone, the neighbours observed the woman looking around her and intently peering through the curtains of the house, but did not question it, assuming she was a friend. When Agnes returned, the woman then said she had a job offer for her, so Agnes quickly fed and bathed the baby and they set off together. On the way, the woman said that she had left her phone in Agnes’ room, so Agnes asked her to hold the child for her and ran back. When she got back to the room there was no phone and when she returned to where she had left the woman, she had disappeared with the baby. Agnes and her partner Najid were frantic, and went to find Godfrey, the chairperson of their local Child Protection Team (CPT). He went immediately to the police and to the local radio station to appeal for help, but the search yielded nothing. A week went by for the parents, while members of the CPT kept in touch with the police. One morning word came that a baby had appeared in a neighbouring community under suspicious circumstances. The police mounted a search and rescued Agnes and Najid’s son from the stranger. Just when they thought their ordeal was over however, the police requested a DNA test before they would let them take their son home, and insisted that they pay 245,000 Ugandan shillings for the privilege. |  There was no way the young couple could afford this. Weeks started to go by where they were separated from their son (he had been cared for in an orphanage since his rescue) and they could do nothing. The CPT stepped in again and accompanied them to negotiate with the police. For 24 hours the CPT members negotiated with the police, showing official letters and speaking to different departments. At the end of this time, the baby was finally returned to his parents. It was later revealed that the woman who took the baby had lied to her partner who had been deployed in Somalia with the Uganda People’s Defence Force. She had told him she was pregnant so he would send her money, then when he came back a year later, expecting to see a child of around two months, she decided to try and steal a baby. Masese III community is largely made up of people from the Karamajong community, who come from the north of the country where the soldier was from. The woman had specifically targeted this area to find a baby that would look convincing. On the day Agnes was reunited with her son she said "I am very happy that I have finally found my son. The lady who stole him thought since am a young girl I would be easily fooled but I am very grateful to the CPT, because if it wasn't for them, trust me, we wouldn't have got this far in rescuing him." The Child Protection Teams we support in the slum communities around Jinja describe themselves as ‘the eyes, ears and mouths of the children they work to protect’. This story is a great example of how they work to bring children to safety and build a bridge between the community and local services. |
Child Protection Teams become go-to groups for reuniting lost children with their families
13/7/2018
In the last few months, Child Protection Teams in Uganda have been called upon by police to trace two families of children stranded at local stations.
| Nakku Sarah had a busy day planned when she was approached by the Officer in Charge at Masese I Police post. She has been a member of the local Child Protection Team in her area since it was set up in 2016. These groups of 10 elected and trained local volunteers work closely with their communities to create a safer environment for children in the slum areas around Jinja town. Lost children are often brought to the teams by local people when found wandering, sometimes miles from home. Child Protection Teams have become the ‘go-to’ for their communities because of the dedicated work they accomplish on behalf of vulnerable children. Reflecting the quality of this work, they have quickly become the first port of call not only with residents but also with the local authorities. That morning, the Officer told Sarah that they had a young boy left with them at the station, and no idea how to find his parents. A particular challenge to identifying his family and the whereabouts of his home, was communicating with the boy who is deaf, cannot speak and struggles to walk. Sarah immediately agreed to begin tracing the boy’s parents. She notified the rest of the Child Protection Team who met to plan a way forward, in that meeting they focussed on engaging the community to see if anyone knew the family. She said, “It was a really challenging moment for me, meeting a stranded child with many disabilities. While leaving the police post I kept on wondering what to do! But I am very grateful that as a team we were able to forge a way forward”. After spending hours interviewing local people, the search did not turn out to be fruitful. Undeterred, the team approached ‘Kodheyo’; one of the local television station, and requested a five minute slot to show the boy and appeal to the public to help in finding his family. As a result, by the next day the boy’s family made contact with the Child Protection Team and the police reunited them with their son. |  Sarah described how “Being a CPT member, I had to pick up my courage, because all I had to do that day was work for the betterment of this child’s life. I had to forego everything I had planned and help the child. I doubt whether I could have gone that extra mile had I not been a CPT member. From that day I realised that the way I look and address child protection has changed”. A few weeks later, it was the Masese III Child Protection Team who were called on to help with a similar case. A missing girl ended up at the Central Police Station in Jinja town, and said she was from Masese III. After meeting the child, and conducting neighbourhood enquires, the team quickly found her parents, and were delighted to reunite the family. Success stories like this are a result of teams working over months and years to forge a healthy connection between the community and the police. This work often takes the form of workshops and meetings, and has created a greater understanding, openness and trust between between local people and nearby services. Find out more about the work of the Child Protection Teams in Uganda and support this work by clicking the buttons below. |
| For the past three months, our Grants Officer Sarah Ndlovu has been in Uganda, working with the Children on the Edge Africa Team. They have been focussing on the development of an effective framework to monitor and evaluate the change that is happening in the slum communities where we work. Sarah got married in October, and her husband Ash went with her a month later for the trip, to volunteer his time supporting the project. The team in Uganda work through voluntary Child Protection Teams (CPTs), to support communities in creating a protective environment for their children. Slum communities around Jinja face a multitude of challenges in keeping their children safe. Poverty, appalling living conditions, abuse and neglect are rife, but trained volunteers are bringing about transformation. They do this through offering support and advice, linking parents and children with local services, facilitating a huge variety of workshops and providing small business loans. Piloted initially in Masese II and seeing great success, the CPTs were replicated into Masese I, Masese III and Loco communities a few years ago. As work expanded, the need to thoroughly evaluate its effectiveness became increasingly vital. After working together on creating a ‘Theory of Change’ last year, the team have been working over the last three months on how to monitor and evaluate this change. Sarah says “The most positive element of the experience for me, was developing the whole Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E ) framework in a participatory way. We didn’t put this framework together in the UK office and then train people about it. We spent a lot of time observing and learning about how the whole Uganda team functioned, looking at the systems and processes they already had in place. We then worked together to create something more streamlined and productive, making the work of both the Children on the Edge Africa team and the CPT’s much easier.” This is not only being put in place for the existing communities where we work, but in the new areas where Children on the Edge Africa are identifying as needing support. Since November, the team have conducted both community and child-led needs assessments in Wandago and Katooke slums. As a result they are now looking to develop existing child protection structures in these areas, addressing issues like rape, neglect, poor sanitation and a lack of services. |  To begin the evaluation process in each existing areas where we work (Loco, Masese I,II and III), four groups were gathered in each community (children, those receiving business loans, community members and members of the CPTs) and they each discussed stories of change that have happened in their lives. They would do this through role play, discussion, or for the children, creative exercises like ‘Paper People’. Each group would then vote for the story they felt was most significant and it would be videoed, either with speech or through role-play. Then the four groups would come together, watch the videos (see header photo) and pick the story which they felt represented the most change. These discussions in all communities highlighted the positive impact of the loans and savings groups. Many people reported that alongside the practical elements (like being able to afford school fees, rent and food for the family) they now feel a great sense of hope for the future, and the future of their children. Many individuals described feeling happy, gaining confidence, having pride in what they have achieved and being admired within their community. Going forward, using this ‘Most Significant Change’ technique will not only help us to see where change is happening and which issues need more input, but it will serve to involve communities in identifying this process, and participating in the change itself. This will happen every year for the course of the programme, as part of the overall M&E framework, helping us to build up a picture of how the communities are being impacted by our work or by other external factors in their lives. Sarah describes how “I learnt that Monitoring and Evaluation doesn’t have to be an additional difficult task on top of everything the team already do, but something which can bring together everyone involved, to analyse the work in a more organised and effective way”. Watch this space to learn more about some exciting new ways we are using technology to monitor all programme activities and to evaluate our impact. |
Sarah, Ash and the Children on the Edge Africa team.
The 2018 theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #PressForProgress, with the organisers of the movement describing how “While we know that gender parity won't happen overnight, the good news is that across the world women are making positive gains day by day…there’s indeed a very strong and growing global movement of advocacy, activism and support”.
The UNDP Gender Assessment in Uganda states that “Attitudes, beliefs and practices that serve to exclude women are still deeply entrenched throughout the country. This means that unbalanced power relations between men and women continue to have a negative impact on women's agency, their human capital development, and their ability to contribute equitably to Uganda's growth and prosperity”.
Our local partners in Uganda have a strong focus on ensuring opportunities for women. Many women are involved in the running of the Child Protection Teams, which form the foundation of the work here, in a number of slum communities, mainly around Jinja. The teams deliver training on a myriad of issues, enabling local people to create a protective environment for their children. Workshops also include family planning, women’s rights and domestic violence.
COTE Africa Team member Winnie Biira says “The women and girls have become aware of their rights and have built up their self esteem and confidence to the point that they are bold enough to report domestic violence cases and child abuse cases to the authorities. This boldness I am certain will bring change to the communities and the world at large”. Social worker Nandawula Babra adds how “For battered women, I link them to different public offices which support women in need and train them on their rights. I know they can stand up for their rights if they are properly empowered”.
A recent report by UN Women stated that only 49% of women in Uganda make their own decisions about regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and health care. In Loco slum, Project Manager Edwin Wannabe describes how “…there can be a cycle of poverty and problems that follow families from one generation to the next. A child of a child mother is therefore more likely to become a child mother as well, and experience issues similar to the ones their mothers had. Additionally, once a girl is a child mother, she is more likely to experience more unplanned pregnancies since many child mothers are not financially independent and rely on relationships for support”.
Children on the Edge Africa has enabled 16 young mothers to attend a pilot programme that trains these them in hairdressing skills and financial management, whilst teaching on reproductive health and family planning. With these components, those involved are able to learn about finance and business, be encouraged in empowering themselves and other women and girls in the community, as well as becoming aware of preventative measures for unplanned pregnancies.
The majority of our hundreds of small business loans in Uganda go to women who are able to build a solid income and consequently afford to send their children to school. Winnie Mutesi is 25, and had finished senior level four at school, and completed a course in pharmacy and production before she moved to Nkere. After moving she was unable to find a job and her husband was often away fishing, leaving her unable to provide for herself and her two children.
After receiving a loan from Children on the Edge Africa, Winnie was able to begin her own pharmacy business in her home. She started by purchasing tablets, injections and some basic first aid equipment from the main pharmacy in Jinja, and now effectively treats up to five clients a week for illnesses such as malaria and typhoid. She also offers first aid to those who need it, and charges a small fee for treatment, which enables her to invest in further items.
Winnie loves helping people and has become well known in her community. Her fees are far cheaper than treatment would cost at the health centre, people respect her and are grateful and appreciative of her work. She recently spoke to the drug inspector who told her to find somewhere permanent to work from, so she is currently saving any extra money she makes to try and rent a small shop in a nearby market community. With time, she would like to do more training and gain further certification. Winnie’s ultimate dream is to become a nurse.
Our local partners in Uganda have a strong focus on ensuring opportunities for women. Many women are involved in the running of the Child Protection Teams, which form the foundation of the work here, in a number of slum communities, mainly around Jinja. The teams deliver training on a myriad of issues, enabling local people to create a protective environment for their children. Workshops also include family planning, women’s rights and domestic violence.
COTE Africa Team member Winnie Biira says “The women and girls have become aware of their rights and have built up their self esteem and confidence to the point that they are bold enough to report domestic violence cases and child abuse cases to the authorities. This boldness I am certain will bring change to the communities and the world at large”. Social worker Nandawula Babra adds how “For battered women, I link them to different public offices which support women in need and train them on their rights. I know they can stand up for their rights if they are properly empowered”.
A recent report by UN Women stated that only 49% of women in Uganda make their own decisions about regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and health care. In Loco slum, Project Manager Edwin Wannabe describes how “…there can be a cycle of poverty and problems that follow families from one generation to the next. A child of a child mother is therefore more likely to become a child mother as well, and experience issues similar to the ones their mothers had. Additionally, once a girl is a child mother, she is more likely to experience more unplanned pregnancies since many child mothers are not financially independent and rely on relationships for support”.
Children on the Edge Africa has enabled 16 young mothers to attend a pilot programme that trains these them in hairdressing skills and financial management, whilst teaching on reproductive health and family planning. With these components, those involved are able to learn about finance and business, be encouraged in empowering themselves and other women and girls in the community, as well as becoming aware of preventative measures for unplanned pregnancies.
The majority of our hundreds of small business loans in Uganda go to women who are able to build a solid income and consequently afford to send their children to school. Winnie Mutesi is 25, and had finished senior level four at school, and completed a course in pharmacy and production before she moved to Nkere. After moving she was unable to find a job and her husband was often away fishing, leaving her unable to provide for herself and her two children.
After receiving a loan from Children on the Edge Africa, Winnie was able to begin her own pharmacy business in her home. She started by purchasing tablets, injections and some basic first aid equipment from the main pharmacy in Jinja, and now effectively treats up to five clients a week for illnesses such as malaria and typhoid. She also offers first aid to those who need it, and charges a small fee for treatment, which enables her to invest in further items.
Winnie loves helping people and has become well known in her community. Her fees are far cheaper than treatment would cost at the health centre, people respect her and are grateful and appreciative of her work. She recently spoke to the drug inspector who told her to find somewhere permanent to work from, so she is currently saving any extra money she makes to try and rent a small shop in a nearby market community. With time, she would like to do more training and gain further certification. Winnie’s ultimate dream is to become a nurse.
Children from the Child Rights Club we support in Loco slum, Uganda have recently organised a clean up day in their area, inspiring the adults to join in and attracting other children to the club.
30 children from the Club, based in the Ugandan Railways Primary School and supported by Children on the Edge Africa, came up with the idea when they created their Club’s work plan at the start of the year.
After they decided they wanted to have a day to spruce the area, Children on the Edge provided some equipment, and the Loco Child Protection Team also bought shovels along, with a few of the team members helping out on the day. The area was swept and tidied, with rubbish being gathered and burnt.
Ashwin Ndlovu, who is currently out in Uganda supporting the development of the team’s Monitoring and Evaluation said ‘They were so organised and enthusiastic. They all put on their child rights T-shirts, and the girl that was leading it was brilliant. She was very confident, and went around to people’s houses, talking to adults about children’s rights and what the Child Rights Club does”.
One member of the Child Rights Club lives in a neighbouring community, but he came to Loco to help his team members clean their community and share information with parents about child rights. He said “I don’t live here, but I came to help as children have the right to live in a clean environment”. A few more children followed along, asking how they could join as they were inspired by what the other children were sharing.
After the cleaning was done, they went back to the Primary School for some porridge and a workshop led by the children themselves. They sat outside and talked about how to stay safe from abuse, chatting about situations they have been through and what they find difficult.
They talked freely with our social worker Babra, and the patron of the Child Rights Club, saying that they find it harder to talk to their teachers. One girl said ‘My Stepmother gives me all the clothes and I do the laundry by myself. She doesn’t ask her own children to do this, and I have to wait until the other children finish their meal each day and eat the leftovers”.
The children were glad to be able to talk, and also shared some positive comments about the project. They talked about how much they like to play in the new Loco playground outside the Early Childhood Development Centre, when all they used to do was go to Jinja town to pick up scrap.
Watch this space to see what new ideas the Child Rights Club comes up with this year, and find out more about the wider project here.
30 children from the Club, based in the Ugandan Railways Primary School and supported by Children on the Edge Africa, came up with the idea when they created their Club’s work plan at the start of the year.
After they decided they wanted to have a day to spruce the area, Children on the Edge provided some equipment, and the Loco Child Protection Team also bought shovels along, with a few of the team members helping out on the day. The area was swept and tidied, with rubbish being gathered and burnt.
Ashwin Ndlovu, who is currently out in Uganda supporting the development of the team’s Monitoring and Evaluation said ‘They were so organised and enthusiastic. They all put on their child rights T-shirts, and the girl that was leading it was brilliant. She was very confident, and went around to people’s houses, talking to adults about children’s rights and what the Child Rights Club does”.
One member of the Child Rights Club lives in a neighbouring community, but he came to Loco to help his team members clean their community and share information with parents about child rights. He said “I don’t live here, but I came to help as children have the right to live in a clean environment”. A few more children followed along, asking how they could join as they were inspired by what the other children were sharing.
After the cleaning was done, they went back to the Primary School for some porridge and a workshop led by the children themselves. They sat outside and talked about how to stay safe from abuse, chatting about situations they have been through and what they find difficult.
They talked freely with our social worker Babra, and the patron of the Child Rights Club, saying that they find it harder to talk to their teachers. One girl said ‘My Stepmother gives me all the clothes and I do the laundry by myself. She doesn’t ask her own children to do this, and I have to wait until the other children finish their meal each day and eat the leftovers”.
The children were glad to be able to talk, and also shared some positive comments about the project. They talked about how much they like to play in the new Loco playground outside the Early Childhood Development Centre, when all they used to do was go to Jinja town to pick up scrap.
Watch this space to see what new ideas the Child Rights Club comes up with this year, and find out more about the wider project here.
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