Through individual sponsorships, each child
is provided food, shelter, a quality education
and medical care.
Ugandan Lambs is somewhat unique in that there is no orphanage at present. The children attend boarding schools, providing for all their needs for nine months out of the year. During school breaks, they return to one of two family homes. They are cared for by extended family members, the majority of whom have been widowed by AIDS, and are employed by Ugandan Lambs.
Each child’s educational progress is tracked from term to term. Where possible, tutoring is made available for those children needing additional help. Overall, the children have transitioned well into their schools and the majority of them continue to make steady progress.
Eventually, the vision of Ugandan Lambs is to begin taking in children outside of the extended Sebabi family – those completely without resource and in desperate need of someone to care for and love them. Ugandan Lambs has future plans to purchase property, so that all the children can be in one location. In addition, we will have enough land to produce food through farming, and space for micro-business ventures for skills training and additional income.
The Future
Because the main goal of Ugandan Lambs is to break the cycle of poverty and dependence, each child will progress to vocational training, typically upon completion of secondary school. Ugandan Lambs is partnering with the Nile Vocational Institute (NVI), located in Jinja. At NVI, the children can choose from different occupations including catering and tourism, nursery school education, business studies, tailoring and textiles, carpentry, auto repair, construction, and more. Ninety percent of the students graduating from NVI become either self-employed or find employment. Other well-known organization partnering with NVI include World Vision and Compassion International.
Vocational training is made possible through funding sources outside of sponsorship. Each child will apply for a scholarship to attend, indicating their intended area of study, their commitment to complete the training with good marks, and a commitment to give back a small portion of their income to help other children like themselves.