Participants are advised to arrive 2 days before commencement of the project applied for.

COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION FOUNDATION NETWORK (COTFONE).

Supporting orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC’S) in their right to access quality education in a conducive learning atmosphere.

The work camp shall be hosted at COTFONE Children’s Centre, at Kiwangala Village, Masaka District (About 4 hours from Kampala.). Located 158km from Kampala in Kisekka Sub-County, Bukoto South County- Masaka District. (125Km Kampala–Masaka and 33km on Masaka-Kiwangala road).

COTFONE Children’s Centre (CCC) is a project of COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION FOUNDATION NETWORK (COTFONE), a community-based NGO founded in 2003 to support Orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC’S), provide solutions towards the prevention of HIV/AIDS and to ensure community self-sustenance. COTFONE currently provides free formal education and other social services to 180 Orphaned and Vulnerable children (OVC’S) aged 4-12 at the pre-primary section at COTFONE Children’s Centre. The Centre does not have permanent premises to conduct its teaching, but the land and buildings are rented.

In addition to providing free formal education to OVC’S, the centre also provides these children with psycho social support, free HIV/AIDS testing and counselling services, and other additional trainings such as HIV/AIDS prevention and Health/Nutrition. COTFONE also has programs that target the guardians of these children through micro credit services, to ensure that the OVC’S too have access to basic rights that every child deserves.

COTFONE and UPA have had a positive working relationship for several years, based on our similar objectives and goals of improving the lives of communities. We would like to continue this partnership in 2010 by constructing a classroom for these OVC’S. Our hope is that by working together, we can accommodate more orphans and create conducive learning environment for these orphans.

The two week International workcamp between UPA and COTFONE shall expose volunteers to the challenges of these 180 OVC’S and more aged 4-12 years and will offer a lot of interactive activities such as games and sports on one hand, while the 25 volunteers shall be engaged in construction of a classroom, with an emphasis on hands-on learning and cultural exchange.

- To create a positive learning atmosphere for Orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC’S).
- To build hope in HIV/AIDS and other disadvantaged orphans.
- To promote friendship and understanding between volunteers, Orphans, and local people.
- To improve local communities through voluntary activities.
- To promote international exchange and cooperation between volunteers of different nationalities.
- To ensure positive living and sensitizing children on the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

- Collecting water, sand and bricks.
- Mixing sand, cement and water.
- Construction of a classroom for orphans.
- Games and sports activities with OVC.
- Drawing and painting pictures with orphans.
- HIV/AIDS prevention and vocational training to disadvantaged children.
- Cultural and educational visits.
- Visits to Orphans’ homes.
- Visit to health centre.
- Visit local markets.
- Watch a sketch on HIV/AIDS performed by a local children’s group of COTFONE.
- Visit holy stones landmark and National Park (at the cost of the interested volunteers).

Note - During the workcamp we will have an opportunity to visit tourist sites such as the National Park at a cost of the interested participants, so you can reserve some money for it.

It is expected after the work camp...

- A classroom will be built for OVC.
- Providing Life skills Development and peer education skills to 20 children with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention.
- Drawing and painting for orphans and volunteers.

- OVC and participating volunteers.
- Kiwangala community.
- 20 children trained as peer educators on life skills.

A maximum of 25 volunteers are expected. They will also work with the 180 and more Orphans and Vulnerable Children and other local community members.

Participants are expected to be engaged in Games, sports, open group discussions and conduct community outreaches to the 6 villages in Kiwangala parish on HIV/AIDS orphans’ care and HIV/AIDS. Home visit packages are encouraged to be arranged as a cultural practice for visitors.

Volunteers with open minds, positive attitudes, and warm hearts.
Willing to take up various tasks from constructing a classroom to playing games and draw pictures with children. Desire to help HIV/AIDS orphans and affected families. Flexible and with the ability to accept and adapt to living in rural conditions. Willing to share his/her experiences. Flexible to the taste of other foods (local). Ready to do heavy manual work on the project.

No expertise required, although volunteers with experience in construction are given priority.

The project location is in a predominantly Baganda population speaking Luganda. There is a very high language barrier in Kiwangala community, as most members are uneducated and therefore don’t speak English. However, the work camp shall draw participating children from the orphans and vulnerable children from COTFONE Children’s Centre. Additional volunteers will be recruited from local community such as OVC caregivers, in addition to the volunteers from Uganda Pioneers Association and international volunteers.

The local Community and some COTFONE staff shall be involved in the project during the home visits, construction of the school building, and during the sensitizations to children on HIV/AIDS prevention. It is hoped that the local community shall gain a better understanding of volunteerism, and be motivated to work at COTFONE Children’s Centre part time. The community will also gain skills in cross cultural understanding, construction, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

All volunteers will be staying in the apartment compound. Volunteers should not expect luxurious conditions, as we encourage volunteers to live in similar conditions as the local people concerning meals, bathroom, bathing, etc. Volunteers should come prepared with mosquito nets and mosquito repellent.

Also, Uganda is a relatively conservative culture, so please ensure that you dress appropriately (ex. Men should wear long pants and a shirt while working; females should dress so as they are not revealing too much skin. i.e. dresses or skirts should be below the knee and not so much back show tops). Participants will be required to carry own sleeping bags and mats. The camp site have simple bathrooms with no showers. The camp site have latrines not toilets, and a simple cooking shelter (kitchen). Participants are requested to bring with them mosquito nets, working clothes, gloves and shoes/boots.
If any games, information/pictures from home country bring them

Participants will divide themselves in groups to prepare their own meals assisted by a local staff. Meals may sometimes be booked by other volunteers from the Children’s Centre. Kiwangala has excellent produce and local food, which should make preparing meals relatively easy.

COTFONE Children’s Centre is adjacent to medical facilities at Kiwangala Health centre IV. Here first aid and simple medications and health services can be provided, while serious cases can be referred to Masaka main referral Hospital 33 km away in Masaka town.

COTFONE Children’s Centre has a small water tank and additional water can be ordered from a local water vendor on demand. Volunteers should therefore be prepared to save water. Occasionally volunteers may also be asked to fetch water from a community well in a distance of 1 km from the camp site.

March is normally a semi-dry season with warm temperature ranging between 25–30 degrees centigrades. It usually marks the end of the first rains in Uganda.

International participants are required to pay a fee of 250 Euros. The fee covers pick up from the airport or bus station upon arrival in Uganda, orientation at the UPA guesthouse, local transport to and from the work camp, food and accommodation during the work camp.
The fee also contributes to the running and activities taking place during the work camp and communication prior to the camp.

ROOFING OF A 3 CLASSROOM BLOCK AND OFFICE, TREE PLANTING AND WORKING IN SCHOOL GARDEN, HOME OUTREACH OF ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN, HIV/AIDS AWARENESS.

KIKANDWA VILLAGE, KIKYUSA SUB-COUNTY, BAMUNANIKA COUNTY, LUWERO DISTRICT. ABOUT 50 KM NORTH OF KAMPALA.

Kirabo Children's Center Day and Boarding school was started by a small group of female teachers born in Kikandwa and Kikyusa Villages in conjunction with the local community members in 2006. The idea was hatched by Sarah Muwanguzi Nabatanzi who had realized that children in that area were exposed to ignorance and diseases as a result of poverty and the average illiteracy rate was about 70% in the area. The area has a number of people affected by HIV/AIDS including over 2500 orphans, whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS and are living with foster parents e.g grand parents who are too old to look after them (70 years and above) and others with friends and well wishers or next of kin.

Kikandwa and Kikyusa villages are amongst those villages which were destroyed by the war in 1980-1986 causing many people to be homeless. Many died and others migrated to big cities e.g Kampala for their safety. The teaching of the pupils was done from the Church which was the only existing building in the area with only 20 pupils.

In 2007, many people in and outside the area developed interest in their initiatives and amongst those was the grandmother of Sarah Muwanguzi Nabatanzi who is still surviving and is called MRS MUWANGUZI CHRISTINE who donated 50 acres of land to the project. The community mobilized funds to construct 3 temporary wooden classrooms roofed with corrugated iron sheets. They currently have 270 pupils from Nursery to primary 5 level.
UVDA helped them to construct a three permanent classroom block and office to wall level pending roofing, putting doors and windows, making the floor and plastering. Since most children live with old grandparents, they usually come to school without breakfast or anything to eat during break time or lunch so some of these children are malnourished and quite a good number of them are attacked by malaria and others have jiggers in their feet. They lack mosquito nets and medicine. Therefore, the school project has started an agricultural project where they grow food and fruit on large scale for children's consumption at school.
They are also planting some trees for environment protection. They also constructed a fish pond but have not yet introduced in fish due to lack of food for fish.

Volunteers are expected to participate in all the mentioned programmes (construction, gardening, tree planting etc).

The nearest Government Hospital is at Wabusana 7 kms away and that's where the HIV/AIDS Programme will be conducted.

EUR 200

Participants can bring with them some scholastic materials, sports kits, agriculture tools and also raise some funds for construction.

FURTHER CONSTRUCTION OF THE SCHOOL CLASSROOMS FOR OVER 100 CHILDREN AT RWEIHAMBA, SOCIAL INTERACTION TO ORPHANS IN THE AREA, REPAIR SAFE HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY PEOPLE WHO CARE FOR MOST OF THE ORPHANS AND DESTITUTE CHILDREN. ALSO PROVISION OF BASIC NUTRITION AND HEALTH CARE FOR THEM IF POSSIBLE.

RWEIHAMBA VILLAGE, RUTETE SUB-COUNTY, BURAHYA COUNTY, KABAROLE DISTRICT, ABOUT 35KMS FROM FORT PORTAL, TOWN 300KM WEST OF KAMPALA.

This project was founded by the community members of Rweihamba Village in order to support the less privileged children in that area in terms of school, medical care, clothing, bedding etc. Kabarole District in one of those areas with quite a number of orphans due to the HIV/ AIDS scourge in the country. Most of these vulnerable children live with members of their extended family, mainly grandparents who are too old to look after them. It is against this background that UVDA was invited by the community members of Rweihamba to come and help them set up some school facilities etc. for the project.

The project is located near Mt. Rwenzori, Queen Elizabeth National park, Kibale Forest reserve and near one of the 75 crater lakes known as lake Nkruba. It is possible to see varieties of bird species, Monkies. etc from the project. Kabarole District has a population of 350,180 people (170, 079 are female. 180, 101 are male.)

In July 2008, an International work camp was organized to construct a 3 classroom block, office and store. Due to lack of enough funds, the volunteers and the community members of Rweihamba managed to construct this block to foundation level. At present, the community members are trying to raise some funds for its completion before this workcamp.

Participants can also bring with them some gifts for the children to include sports kits and will be accommodated in a house at the project.

This project is located 36 kms from the foot steps of Mt. Rwenzori and is near to Queen Elizabeth National Park and a walkable distance to Kibaale Forest National Park, the 75 crator lakes one of which is Lake Nkruba and the top of the world.

At Kibale forest National Park, its possible to meet families of habituated chimpanzees, red colobus monkeys chattering and swinging through the ancient forest trees. It is also possible to go to Bugodi swamp for bird watching and in search of more primate species and more spectacularly the rare wetlands sitatunga and the shoebill. This dense tropical forest is home to an astonishing 12 species of primate and provides one of the highest primate densities in the world.
Special arrangements for participants to visit such sites during free time or weekends at their own cost will be made from the camp site. The area is cold since it is situated near Mt. Rwenzori and is hilly.

EUR 200