Children on the Edge
  • DONATE
  • WHO WE ARE
    • A Child Rights Approach
    • Meet the team
    • Contact Us
    • Media
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Bangladesh: Education for Rohingya refugee children
    • India: Education for 'untouchable' Dalit children
    • Uganda: Transforming slum communities
    • Uganda: Early Years Education for Congolese refugee children
    • Kachin State Myanmar: Support for displaced children
    • Bangladesh: Community Schools for slum dwelling children
    • Lebanon: Education for Syrian refugee children
    • India-Nepal border: Education for children in brothel communities
  • SUPPORT US
    • Receive our news updates
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Fundraise for us
    • Take on a challenge >
      • 12,000 Steps Virtual Event
      • London Marathon
      • Brighton Marathon
      • Ride London >
        • Ride London Application Form
      • Chichester Half Marathon Event
      • Great South Run
    • Organise an Event
    • Fundraise at Work
    • Clubs & Faith Groups
    • Schools
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • Latest stories




​
​LATEST STORIES

DONATE

‘We sleep in the rubbish’ - Children are leading the way, identifying needs in Katooke slum

22/1/2018

 
Picture
BECOME A DONOR
After our pilot ‘Child Protection Team’ model saw the transformation of their community in Masese II slum, Uganda, we have scaled up the work to three new communities in Jinja area. Over the last few years, these new teams have made great progress in creating a safe environment for children, through workshops, training, small business loans and support of families.

Children on the Edge exists for those children who live on the edge of their societies. We continually search out those children who are forgotten, those who are surviving without support in extreme circumstances. For this reason we are expanding again in Uganda this year, sharing our successful Child Protection Model in more slum areas around Jinja, and further afield.

Katooke slum is a small slum community of just over 1,200 people. It is situated next to the football stadium in Kampala, and the main income of its residents comes from picking and selling scrap from the huge rubbish site that dominates the area.

We were asked to get involved here, due to reports of a high number of abandoned children. The Chairperson, who recently arranged a televised documentary about the area said “People here have lost hope and they no longer care about life. This affects how they care for their children”.

Our team in Uganda (Children on the Edge Africa) have begun assessing the needs in Katooke, starting out with talking to the children. We put children at the heart of all we do, and see them not as passive recipients of aid, but as agents of change in their own futures. It is essential that when we begin work in a new area, it is the children themselves who tell us about any problems they are facing.

​Last week, we organised a needs assessment with a large group of children from Katooke. We split them into two groups according to age, with 25 participants in the younger group (age 8-12) and 30 in the older group (age 13-15).
Picture
Younger group drawing out their local area using local materials to identify key places.
The younger group drew out their local area using materials such as grass, stones, sticks and plastic tins to identify key places.

​The older group collected sticks, stones and rubbish from the area and created a circle on the ground to represent the community. Both groups were identifying areas they felt were safe or unsafe, and describing why.

What we thought was a case of 50 abandoned children, turned out to be a lot more complex. Many of the children are here voluntarily, although they have often run away from home because of abuse.

​Around 20 of the older boys described how they actually sleep in the rubbish, and with no affordable school and no health centre, children here are very much left to fend for themselves.

Sleeping outside makes children feel fearful, and they are prone to mosquito bites and malaria, with no nets to protect them. Most of the children (aged between 7-17) have to pick rubbish in order to eat, and most eat only once a day.

There are no latrines, and very poor drainage systems. As the community is on a steep hill, those living at the bottom of the hill are flooded by water that is severely contaminated with faeces, causing widespread illness.

The rubbish pit where the children work is full of broken plastic, wood and other sharp materials that they cut themselves on. All these objects are obviously dirty, so many fall sick as a result of the work.

Sarah Ndlovu our Grants Officer is currently in Uganda, developing our Monitoring and Evaluation, she said “We saw children as young as three picking scrap and weighing it to sell (1 kilo of rubbish, gets only 800 shillings – about 17p). Child abuse levels are also very high with 45% of adults admitting to beating their children”

Over the next few months, the Children on the Edge Africa team will be building relationships and trust in the Katooke community, and looking to work with the existing Child Protection Committee to ensure that the very best services are given to children.

​Our social worker, Babra, will also be delivering a series of child protection workshops. Click the buttons below to find out more about our work and keep in touch with all that’s going on.
OUR WORK IN UGANDA
RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER

Comments are closed.
    SIGN UP
    ​FOR OUR
    ​E-UPDATES

    Categories

    All
    Ambassadors
    Bangladesh
    Burma/Myanmar
    Chichester
    Chichester Half Marathon
    Child Participation
    Child Sacrifice
    Early Childhood Development
    Fundraising
    General
    History
    Hope
    India
    Kachin
    Kyaka II Uganda
    Lebanon
    Refugees
    Rohingya
    Schools
    The Body Shop At Home
    #ThrowbackThursday
    Uganda
    UK
    Volunteer

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011



    RSS Feed

How we help

Protecting Child Rights
Current Projects
Our History
Annual Report 

Get Involved

Regular Giving
Fundraise for us
Take on a Challenge
Corporate Partners
Volunteering
Grant Giving Organisations

News

Latest News
​Receive our news updates
Media

DONATE

How we spend your money
Donate now

More

Jobs
Contact Us
Resources
Chichester Half Marathon

Shop

Meet the team
​Privacy Policy
Accessibility
Logo which says 'Registered with Fundraising Regulator'

Registered charity no. 1101441
REGISTERED COMPANY No. 4996130 

​Children on the Edge, 5 The Victoria, 25 St Pancras, Chichester,  West Sussex, PO19 7LT, UK.
  • DONATE
  • WHO WE ARE
    • A Child Rights Approach
    • Meet the team
    • Contact Us
    • Media
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Bangladesh: Education for Rohingya refugee children
    • India: Education for 'untouchable' Dalit children
    • Uganda: Transforming slum communities
    • Uganda: Early Years Education for Congolese refugee children
    • Kachin State Myanmar: Support for displaced children
    • Bangladesh: Community Schools for slum dwelling children
    • Lebanon: Education for Syrian refugee children
    • India-Nepal border: Education for children in brothel communities
  • SUPPORT US
    • Receive our news updates
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Fundraise for us
    • Take on a challenge >
      • 12,000 Steps Virtual Event
      • London Marathon
      • Brighton Marathon
      • Ride London >
        • Ride London Application Form
      • Chichester Half Marathon Event
      • Great South Run
    • Organise an Event
    • Fundraise at Work
    • Clubs & Faith Groups
    • Schools
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • Latest stories