Sprout Care Foundation aims to improve our community and the lives of the community members. One of the ways we do this is through our community development projects. Currently SCF works in over 14 villages and towns, in three subcounties in the Rakai District of Uganda, with intent to work in more. SCF is currently active in Lwankoni, Kalisizo Rural and Kalisizo Town subcounties.
Most of our community work is currently based on using our skills to change the community’s negative and false attitudes. Some of the common beliefs we fight are:
- educating girls is not important
- child marriage
- girls are destined to be house wives or men’s property in marriage
- child labor
- domestic violence and forms of abuse that violate the children rights
Below is a list of some of our community development projects. Click the project to learn more about it.
Waste Management Education and Awareness
HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support
Child Protection Education and Advocacy
Life Skills Training for Children
Nutrition Education
Women’s Empowerment Groups
Waste Management Education and Awareness
Through our waste management education and awareness project we teach the community members the concept of composting biodegradable waste and the separation of non-biodegradable wastes such as plastics. Currently the Kalisizo area does not have a good solution to handle non-biodegradable waste. In Kalisizo there is some burning of plastic waste, but this is not good for the environment or the health of the community members. SCF speaks of the dangers of plastic burning and is looking for find a better solution for the waste of our community.
HIV/AIDS Awareness and Support
SCF speaks to the local communities about how HIV is spread, preventative measures, fights against misconceptions and myths surrounding HIV and advocates for HIV positive children. SCF teaches about how to get tested, we provide pamphlets and necessary contacts. We network with local hospitals and can help expedite care for HIV positive children. We also inform the community on how the infected can get medication.
Child Protection Education and Advocacy
Child abuse is unfortunately very common in our district of Uganda. We work in partnership with local police and local government to educate and enforce the protection of children. SCF, along with local partners, hold seminars in the surrounding villages to sensitize the families to the terrible effects of child abuse. SCF also provides assistance in the proper reporting and treatment for victims.
Life Skills Training for Children
SCF goes into local schools to teach of vital life skills that are often overlooked by the African school systems. We teach the children how to keep themselves and others healthy and safe. We talk about HIV, abstinence and protection from child abuse. We also supply the senior female and senior male teachers with sexual education materials to for the children. So far we have been teaching these classes quarterly and have brought them to 14 different schools.
Nutrition Education
Food security is a severe challenge for households and communities where we work. The lack of adequate nutrition affects the growth, development and safety of the vulnerable children. This is greatly attributed to declining agricultural productivity due to drought, natural disasters and the death or sickness of breadwinners. As many of our community members are suffering from poverty, we instruct the families on proper nutrition to feed their children for proper growth and development. We teach about balanced diets for the different age ranges of children, and how they can be achieved with the food that is common in the area.
Women’s Empowerment Groups
The women of our community are involved in several groups. The women come together to empower each other in various skills to improve the lives of themselves and their families. Craft making, crop growing and other activities such as wine and juice making, soap and book making to name a few, are used to help the women discover their potential in generating income for the family.