...gratitude is the best way to show a good attitude.."

Mehta family (Mehta group) visiting the Kitega Centre

The Mehta family- the proprietors of the Mehta group of companies visited the centre and the children to extend gratitude as they celebrated a family member’s birthday. They brought several items for the children and the centre, and spent time with the children with disabilities at the centre.

Volunteers

The centre is voluntarily run, our local and international volunteers help us serve our communities, volunteers become life time members of the Kitega family and some return whenever they get an opportunity in addition to supporting the centre in different ways.

in July the centre welcomed new volunteers; Melanie, Carlos and Lucia; we will be working with them for the next three month on several projects.

Learning and support for our children with disabilities.

Supporting and advocacy for children with disabilities is at the heart of the Kitega Centre, the centre continues to mobilise advocacy and support networks through the different community development initiatives.

We are happy to report that some communities have approached the centre with proposals of supporting children with disabilities in their communities – this is empowerment! Our goal in the next five years is to build capacity of community networks that will partner with the centre in supporting children with disabilities.

Vocational training is key for the Centre, equipping the children with skills that will help them in the future.

The Centre is also in the process of registering its vocational training programs with the Directorate of Industrial Training – DIT, this will accredit all the programs at the centre, expand vocational training to the wider community, and open doors for many without academic qualifications to access and create more jobs. This is a blessing for the community.

We have several children awaiting admission to the centre, and slowly taking on new admissions for now.

Our team and volunteers are doing their best to support the children that come to the centre and those on the home -based support program.

Some are now employed at the centre, working on the social enterprises established by the organisation.

Parents and Guardians of children:

Sensitisation is the most important tool that the centre uses to advocate and support disability rights; this begins with the parents and guardians, reminding them about their roles and encouraging them to love and support the children with disabilities. Parents, guardians, and the Kitega team gathered at the centre for a sensitisation session led by the Centre’s pioneer Occupational therapist Dr. Kennedy Bamusubire. Several guidelines were discussed and the parents pledged to support the centre and the children on this journey.

Congratulations:

Joel and Alex graduated with education awards and made the Centre proud! They are all home-grown at the centre, and we are excited to see them utilise their skills as they serve the centre. Joel currently oversees our community programs while Alex manages the mill and several vocational activities. Alex is Edith’s son, and that makes us proud!

VICOBA Plus

Over the past months the VICOBA plus facilitators have been working with the groups to in 14 communities; they have organised refresher sessions for all the groups, supported the development of new business proposals, audited group finances and facilitated the dreaming process for groups.

The VICOBA Plus camp is two weeks away and we look forward to the fellowship and time to dream together with the VICOBA plus family. The camp will also see the election of new leadership that will serve for the next two years.

A regional impact evaluation on VICOBA Plus was carried out with the support of African Road Inc and we will be happy to share the VICOBA Plus impact soon. VICOBA Plus has been replicated in Rwanda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi.

Umoja House and the Health Centre

Work on the Umoja house in progress as individuals fulfil their pledges, the Health Centre in Katungulu is ready to be equipped for operation, the team led by Dr Bamusubire is working tirelessly to ensure that the Medical centre is operational before the close of the year 2023.

Legal Aid:

Our Legal aid program has been operational and supported so many members of the community to seek justice. Over the past months, the legal aid has supported 5 bail applications of innocent community members, stopped land evictions of over 6 households, provided legal awareness among others. Legal aid is key in our communities, as we empower individuals and family, it is very important to equip them with knowledge and avail a platform to ensure justice. Our lawyers have done a tremendous job!

Project Porridge

Our support to schools focusses on facilitating learning – we create an enabling environment that encourages children to learn. Our partnership is with local community schools that been established through community mobilisation. We are serving over 300 pupils with project porridge in three schools. The VICOBA Plus maize mill has greatly supported this initiative.

Read about the history of Kitega Centre’s Project Porridge…

After the tragic loss of their 16-year-old daughter, Roger and Jan Varney went to Bangladesh to volunteer in the only spinal hospital in the country. Jan worked alongside the nurses to train them in wound assessment and bladder and bowel management. Roger had management experience which was very beneficial for this hospital. In total they have been visiting Bangladesh for over 30 years and have raised funds to improve the hospital. It was 3 years ago that the operating theatre was refurbish through their fund raising with help from the local Rotary club and Rotary international. It was when working in Bangladesh that Jan and Roger met Mary Ann an Occupational therapist from UK who was also volunteering at the hospital.  Read more here