Africa's forgotten people – Uganda Chapter (A.F.P.U) is an organization committed to supporting the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of pregnant mothers, farmers, children and the whole community created mainly by illiteracy, diseases, poverty and other natural or man made calamities. The organization will build a centre at Baale in Kayunga District to carter for 250 children, 100 men and 100 women from the Baale region of Kayunga among other 56 districts of Uganda. The centre is currently in the early stages of development. Although institutional approaches to care and support have proven ineffective, Africa's Forgotten People will provide support to only the vulnerable children whose families have perished or dropped out of school due to HIV and AIDS scourge and those whose families are untraceable. Furthermore the center will provide training in different farming methods and provide better health facilities. The project provides a transitional period of institutional care during which peer-group living arrangement is strongly promoted.
Currently there is an estimated 1.8 million orphaned children in Uganda largely due to disease, poverty and illiteracy (Children n the Brink 2000). In addition, the socio-economic effects of HIV/AIDS led to the creation of another category of children referred to as vulnerable. These children are subjected to an environment that affects their physical, mental and psychological well-being. A majority of these children live below the poverty line and have very limited access to health care. The child mortality rate is high because of preventable diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and immunization rates are declining due to lack of better health centers. Furthermore, children who live with poverty and with families suffering and dying from HIV/AIDS are prone to psychosocial problems.
The children have been referred to the centre through the administrative officers and probation and welfare officers from in and around the Baale region as well as care institutions in the district of Kayunga.
To prepare the future prospects of these vulnerable children, school dropouts, farmers and pregnant mothers, it is essential that they receive effective education including training in life skills and vocational opportunity. This will not only help them survive, but will also provide them with a sense of meaning and identity, employment and better health facilities. Africa's Forgotten People – Uganda Chapter is to establish a centre to provide these services for the children, farmers and pregnant mothers. The centre does not only cater for the referred vulnerable children but also provides skills training services to other needy children living around Baale region in Kayunga district.
Buildings will be erected on the piece of land to provide emergency shelter and training facilities for the community. The centre will provide food to feed the orphans but requires resources to provide training facilities like buildings.
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