Lydia is the Chairperson of Masese I Child Protection Team in Uganda. She is also a ‘Lead Storyteller’ for her community. She'd like to introduce Nakimuli Scovia, who benefited from the Children on the Edge Africa education loan programme. ​

In Uganda, we work in partnership with six slum communities in and around Jinja to ensure that children are safer and better protected. Through this work with local communities, children are able to have a better start in life and their prospects for the future are greatly improved.  

We now support six Child Protection Teams in six different communities (Loco, Masese I, Masese II, Masese III, Mafubira and Wandago) who serve to protect children living in their local areas. These teams of volunteers, trained and supported by our sister organisation Children on the Edge Africa, make a huge positive difference, not just to the children, but to the whole community.

Read on to see some recent success stories….

​

The Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Bill 2020 was passed by Ugandan Parliament on the 4th May 2021. Before it could officially become Law, it needed to be prepared for 'assent' by  the President of Uganda.

​We are pleased to say that The Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Act was assented on the 14th July 2021 and communities now have the backing of the law to protect their children. Read more about how a Bill becomes law in Uganda.

The new law aims to curb rampant cases of human sacrifice in Uganda by addressing gaps in the existing legislation that do not adequately handle the appalling practice of child sacrifice and ritual murder as a specific crime. 

Children on the Edge, together with Annie Ikpa (media professional and the instigator of the concept of this Bill), Children on the Edge Africa and World Vision Uganda have been at the forefront of campaigning for a change in the law, leading up to this crucial decision. ​

Not only this, but the children here have been leading transformation since 2017.  When we first started working here, we asked the children what needed to change. They took us on a tour of the area and told us about some of the problems they faced. We interviewed many of them, and they created a map of Wandago with sticks, leaves and stones to show us the places that were safe and the places where they felt afraid.

They told us about high levels of child exploitation, that there was little access to education and a lack of healthy jobs due to all the dangerous breweries that dominate the area. One of the main problems they described was how when they went to the well for water alone, many girls had been victims of rape and sexual assault.

In the last few years, the Child Protection Team in Wandago have been working to stop this. They have done regular spot checks at the well, many workshops on child protection and ensured that no-one walks there by themselves. Since this point there have been no attacks.

They have been working on wider issues too, supporting the opening of a new Early Childhood Development Centre, and starting a small loan scheme to create healthy livelihoods and make it possible for parents to send children to school.

The same children who raised their voices about these needs in Wandago are now part of the Child Rights Club, piloted in Loco, but now also active in Masese I and Wandago. They are trained about their rights and work hand in hand with the Child Protection Team.

They started the change, and they continue to lead, watch the video above and share the great news about the impact these children are having.

Two more clubs have been launched in the last year, one in Masese I and the latest in Wandago. Clubs are given regular workshops on rights, responsibilities, how to work hand-in-hand with local Child Protection Teams and how to prevent instances of child labour, exploitation and abuse. They then take their training out to a wider audience of children in their communities. 
​
Here’s four examples of the clubs in action and the kind of difference they are starting to make.