Education

• Education is a basic right and elementary to human dignity.

• Access to quality education is an avenue for social mobility and reducing inequalities.

• Education is a foundation for peaceful societies and effective institutions.  

• Education plays a central role in building sustainable, inclusive and resilient societies.

So in order to achieve the above, ACOSE aims to raise the bar and make education a catalyst for broader change toward sustainable development in slum communities. 

Through this program, we are building a knowledge base that will help us tackle critical challenges like climate change and also help youths in slums prepare for employment in the high-skill jobs of the fourth industrial revolution. Education is essential for sustainable development, but investments in education that are not accompanied by concurrent progress in other aspects of human wellbeing will fall short of enabling all people to realize their full potential in life. Good child health and nutrition are essential for securing learning outcomes – not only in terms of increased class attendance, but also in improving educational achievements. Similarly, ending poverty, thus reducing pressures to put children to work, shall be essential to universal school enrolment. Such considerations that are relevant for vulnerable groups that tend to suffer from multiple deprivations and are therefore critical to realizing the overall objective of ‘leaving no one behind’.

While education in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is most explicitly formulated as a stand-alone goal (SDG4), there are also a number of education-related targets and/or indicators in other sustainable development goals. These include health and well-being, gender equality and decent work. That’s why ACOSE is investing in Health as our secondary Program.

Health

In a day, 20,000 children die worldwide from conditions that could be prevented or treated. Most of these conditions—including pneumonia, Diarrhea, malaria, and malnutrition—have seemingly simple remedies, such as vaccines, bed nets, and clean drinking water. But poverty and systemic injustice in slums, prevent children from receiving the care they need.

ACOSE is on a mission to change that; by providing health care and social support for children in our slum communities around our catchment areas as well as delivering compassionate care to most vulnerable. 

When we began caring for people living with HIV/AIDS, we were told treatment wasn’t an option in slum communities and to focus on prevention instead—a mindset that essentially would have left millions of people worldwide without care, and something we refused to accept.

Our first program is to provide free, comprehensive HIV/AIDS treatment. We have recruited and trained community members to serve as community health workers and to deliver medication to people living with HIV, accompanying them throughout treatment. Dozens of patients are saved and those on their deathbeds survived. Today, the program is paving way for groundbreaking research that is ushering in a new innovation.

As regards nutrition, our focus is adoption of optimal behaviors supporting nutrition, health, sanitation and hygiene; and increased production and access to nutrient-rich foods for women of childbearing age and slum children under 2 years. More so, increased production and access to nutrient-rich foods for peasant family, is spreading across approximately to the villages.

Health care for women and expectant mothers is often considered a “report card” for the strength of a health system. Nonetheless, our society is failing: Everyday, 2 out of 5 women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, with most of those deaths entirely preventable.  This is entirely due to psychological violence striking them in epidemic magnitude-from domestic abuse to rape, hence a grave violation of their fundamental rights. A case in point is in Bwaise slums, where a-third of women aged 20-40years had their first birth at the age of 12years while more than half had their first birth by the age of 18years. See how we are indeed changing this in our projects.

Slum tours

Every large African city has its slums, take a case study of Kibera and Mathare in Nairobi-Kenya, Neza in Mexico, Ajegunie, shomolu in Nigeria, Khayelitsha and Alexandra of South Africa . For Kampala, Bwaise, Kikubamutwe, Katanga, Kamwokya, Soweto and Mulago are primary contribution to the genre. Most people’s experience of slums is limited to its notorious traffic congestion on the streets. But what goes unseen are the difficulties faced by slum residents to secure basic needs such as water, nutrition, sanitation, education, housing & some sort of income. For most, this daily quest is complicated by a daunting cocktail of challenges such as: overcrowding, prostitution, a simple nutrition is beyond reach, unemployment, HIV-AIDS, alcohol/drug abuse, seasonal flooding, cholera, & crime. The statistics are grim to state but one, 30% of women aged between 12 and 30years, in slums are involved in the sex trade with a sexual-encounter costing as little as $2.0. Two, two-thirds of children in slums are just surviving their childhood with dozens borne into severe reality. More than their words, you always meet kids in horrible circumstances, in drought ravaged areas, in place where there is nothing, and just think of their laughter, as they play with balls and dolls they make from rags and bits of things they find on streets. They are incredibly resourceful deserving support!!!”

Considering this worrying background, Slum tour was started with a projected a Goal of “Reducing the impact of poverty over slum communities.’’ It was initiated on a principal of transforming the living conditions of its residents. It was commissioned as a call in exploring a diverse click of people having different interests, means and backgrounds so that they can share a common developmental vision. In the 3years of its formation, we are able to work with mostly; women, youths and children in slums that show great leadership potential, those that have mastered the art of influencing others and have shown excellence in their respective disciplines. At the back of its formation was the reality that urbanization is still happening,  but only organized planning is the way forward for a peaceful transition to modern affordable environment.

As you tour these slums, you come to notice that most slum children just survive their childhood. Dozens of these toddlers are borne into a severe reality. More than their words, you meet children in horrible circumstances, in unplanned housing, in flooded communities, in places where there’s hardly nothing, and just have to think of their laughter as they always find a way to laugh and play with balls and dolls they make from rags and bits of things they find wherever they are. Implying that they are incredibly resourceful. They are not simply victims in need of your pity but courageous, hardworking survivors, in need of and deserving your support. ACOSE, together with partners, has taken this issue on a serious note by deploying dozens of international tourists to come and lend a hand to stop these sufferings. Contact us to be part of the change agents. 

Luckily enough, Government has been supportive in these slum projects, through Uganda Tourism Board, where dozens of our visitors are recommended by the board. More so, the Uganda Tourism Board has been funding our slum projects since 2018.

Remember by participating on this tour, your $50.0 tour contribution helps purchase basic necessities at the orphanage home.