HELP AIDS ORPHANS IN UGANDA FIND HOPE THROUGH WATOTO VILLAGES
Uganda has endured civil war, the deadly AIDS epidemic, and tragic child abductions throughout the conflict in Northern Uganda near the Sudan border. Approximately 2 million children in Uganda have been orphaned by these calamities. 
Currently there are 880,000* Ugandan children living as orphans as a result of AIDS (*UNAIDS stats). According to UNICEF, the Lord’s Resistance Army has abducted more than 30,000 children since the conflict began in 1986.
The ex child soldiers, child mothers and sex slaves now left behind are stigmatized and rejected as a result of horrific acts done to their own families and communities. The country is still reeling from a past of corruption, brutality and oppression. Social services are scarce, water and sanitation systems are unavailable to most, and poverty and disease are prevalent.
WATOTO VILLAGES are committed to serve the needs of parentless children, rebuild hope and humanity in the heart of each child, equip them with the education, skills and confidence to empower them as the future leaders to impact positive change on the development of Uganda and the next generation. The Watoto motto: Rescue a child, raise a leader, change a nation.
Founded in 1992, Watoto takes in orphaned children between the ages of 2 and 12 and places them in families, providing food, shelter, education, health care, and family values. The villages include over 130 individual homes, each accommodating 8 children, 1 house mother.
Watoto Villages are built to impact orphaned and abandoned children with more than survival support, but to holistically nurture each child to become effective contributors to positive change in Uganda. Each Village is built to become self-sustaining while providing employment for women and teachers, and steady jobs for laborers. In addition to the homes, each village includes a complete school system, a medical clinic, a church/community centre, an agricultural project providing food, a clean water source and electrical power. The first Watoto children have now graduated high school and are attending universities.
This GiveMeaning proposal is to:
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raise awareness for the situation in Uganda
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ask for votes and donor support to raise my contribution of the funds expected for the Building project ($1,000)