Our partnership with Abide Family Center

In Uganda, the past 10 years have been characterized by enormous and unregulated growth in number of children growing up in residential care. There are over 900 orphanages today housing 80,000 children because of financial insecurity or instability in their family situation. Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour, & Social Development set up a task force to investigate the state of childcare in Uganda. They found that 85% of children living in institutions have at least one living parent. Research has also shown that spending time in an orphanage impacts a child’s development. Children in orphanages often have lower IQs, delayed development, and are more at risk for depression, suicide, abuse, incarceration, trafficking and psychological disorders.

We partnered with Abide Family Center to equip 100 women with the skills and resources they need to start their own small business, generating income to support their families and keep children out of orphanages. The training is comprised of 7 courses. After the courses are completed, each woman works one-on-one with a business instructor to make a feasible business plan. The business plan is then approved by a team consisting of a business instructor, social workers, nurse, and team leader. After a home visit from Abide staff, a grant is awarded to each participant in the form of physical supplies which are needed to launch a business. Abide’s business instructor visits each business every 3 months in the first year and again on the second-year mark to give graduates the support and care needed to make the business successful and sustainable.