UGANDA

Uganda is a landlocked country situated in East-central Africa with the population estimated at 42.7 million persons and population growth rate of 3.61 percent per annum and more than half below 18 years.

the country is immensely affected by overdependence,As a result the wellbeing of such a population is affected through problems of poverty, low resource base that puts significant pressure on the delivery of basic social services, particularly to children; demand for food, healthcare and education services is growing while access to education and healthcare services at the community level remains limited more so in the slum areas where this project seeks to be initiated. Primary school retention remains a challenge for the Government due to high dropout rates. Consequently, the transition rate from primary to post-primary and tertiary levels has been low and very few children are now likely to complete primary and continue to higher levels of education. The Orphans and Vulnerable Children Situation Analysis Report, it is estimated that nearly half (48%) of all Ugandan orphans are a result of HIV/AIDS. Up to 43% of all children (7.3 million) live in moderately vulnerable situation, while 8 % (1.3 million) live in critically vulnerable situation. Approximately 14 percent of children in Uganda below 18 years of age are orphans, among those, 20 percent of children 6–17 years are orphans. Even if the fresh HIV infections ceased today, the population already infected constitutes a massive potential for swelling the number of orphans in the country. Ugandan communities have traditionally absorbed orphans within the extended family system. One in four households in Uganda foster at least one orphan by providing for health, shelter, nutrition, education and other needs. However, many of these care-giversare overburdened and often lack the socio-economic capacity to provide adequate care and support for these children. Shechem Ministries is seeking to stand in the gap by providing information, psychosocial support, education, accommodation, medical care.