BUWENDA VILLAGE
JINJA, UGANDA
Buwenda Village is a community development initiative of Help One Now in Jinja, Uganda – providing care for vulnerable children and families in the Buwenda and Jinja area.
It is also a community hub, investing in future generations through education and development.
THE REALITY
Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, is a beautiful country with a difficult past, a challenging present, and a promising future. Conflict persists in its northern region, it is home to over 2.5 million orphans, well over half the population is under the age of 18, and nearly 40% of Ugandans live in poverty.
Buwenda village, in the Jinja District of Uganda, is one of the poorest villages in the country. The people of Buwenda are primarily subsistence farmers who live peasantry lives. Illiteracy levels are high and superstitious beliefs are commonplace. The area is also continually ravaged by jiggers (the chigoe flea, a parasite that attacks the feet), extreme poverty and disease. And all too often, well-intentioned and desperate parents send their kids away in hope of education and opportunity, and those children are turned into slaves.
ABOUT UGANDA
Population: 39.03 million; 49.9% population under age 15
Area: 93,065 sq mi
Year of Independence: 1962
PEOPLE IN UGANDA
Education:
- 73.2% literacy rate
- Uganda’s youth literacy rate is 87.6%
Health:
- 59 year life expectancy (up 11 years since 1990)
- 1.5mil people living with HIV/AIDS
- 74.8% of population using improved drinking water sources
POVERTY IN UGANDA
Pop. Living In Poverty: 38% (13.6 million)
Orphan Pop: 2.5 million orphans (1.2 million orphaned by AIDS)
HIGH RISKS IN UGANDA
Trafficking
- Ugandan children as young as 7 are exploited in forced labor. Forced child labor occurs in agriculture, cattle herding, mining, stone quarrying, brick making, car washing, scrap metal collection, bars, restaurants & the domestic service sector; girls & boys are also exploited in prostitution.
- 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report, Uganda
SPONSOR A CHILD IN JINJA TODAY
We sponsor vulnerable children 2 times to ensure their life-changing, education, food, and medical needs are consistently met, and to support their local leaders and allow them to improve the living situations for all of the children in their care.
THE LOCAL LEADER
Pastor Edward is our local leader in the Jinja area of Uganda. He lives in Buwenda Village with his wife and 2 sons. Edward has planted 2 churches and oversees His Mercy Christian School that serves over 200 impoverished and orphaned children. He has also initiated empowerment projects that have uplifted and improved the lives of widows and other vulnerable groups of people. Edward is passionate about education and the future of his country. We are currently partnering with Edward to build homes for families, empower and resource the teachers of His Mercy School, help hundreds of children get a good education through child sponsorship, and various other community development projects.
GET INVOLVED
RECENT UPDATES
Helping Them Achieve
One key to success for the high capacity local leaders we work with, is the incredible support staff that work alongside them to move the daily progress toward community transformation forward. They are fully invested in the children and families that they serve and...
Meet Zabina
This story comes to us directly from our staff in Uganda! Zabina Naikoba is 19 years old. She lives with her mother, Annet, and her 6 siblings in Jinja Uganda. Annet is a peasant farmer and works hard as a single mom to care for her children. Zabina is a very bright,...
A New Preschool in Uganda!
After months of construction, the new preschool at His Mercy School in Mayuge, Uganda, is OPEN! Here's Genessa Newberry, our Africa Anti-Trafficking Director, with more: At Help One Now, we focus on holistic community development to address all sides of the complex...