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Relevant background information
Child-to-Child activities in Uganda were launched in 1983 with support from UNICEF and from these early years, and as a school movement it spread rapidly through primary schools, mostly in Buganda and Busoga. Its centre was and remains the Institute for Teacher Education Kyambogo [ITEK] (now Kyambogo University). In 1987 UNICEF promoted the establishment of an Interministerial Panel on Health Education which produced a new Science and Health Education curriculum with accompanying textbooks. These had Child-to-Child activities interwoven in them. They are still available in bookshops and purchased by some schools as a resource for use alongside newer recommended publications which do not specifically recommend the approach. In 1988 Uganda took part in the four-country study promoting the concept of health action schools linked with facilitating colleges. The report of the project is contained in the Child to Child Approaches to Colleges and Schools in Africa Report of a Seminar in Nairobi 20-25 January 1992, Child-to-Child 1992 (available from the Child-to-Child Trust, London.
Since that time the approach has continued to be used in Uganda, but to a lesser degree than previously. Howeve,r many schools still think of themselves as Child-to-Child schools; Kyambogo University retains a small Child-to-Child unit and the National Curriculum Centre is well aware of the approach and its potential for the development of life skills. The Child-to-Child readers are still regularly purchased and used in schools (9,000 in the years 1992-1994).
Child-to-Child Uganda
Long-standing coordinating school-focused group, now based on University of Kyambogo, Kampala
Activities began in 1983 and have continued since that date. The unit is based on a national university, Kyambogo, which has particular responsibility for teacher education and students are all taught and encouraged to practise the Child-to-Child
approach. Emphasis is wide but particularly focuses on primary schools, many of which are linked and visited (reports for a number are included). Other special
activities include promotion of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes and inclusive education. The unit has links with the Ministry of Education. Numbers of children affected are difficult to estimate but are certainly large and mostly, but not exclusively, centred in central areas round Kampala. Training is offered and most Child-to-Child materials used as resources. Read more
Development Direct
Please see the 'Development Direct' entry on the United Kingdom page.
Note 1
Sample of Activities from Schools linked with the Child-to-Child programme based at Kyambogo.
Activities are reported from:
Bupadhengo School (a rural school emphasising hygiene and food production) Ntinda School for the Deaf St. Joseph’s Primary School, Nsambya (A girls’ school in a poor area) Kamuli School (Serves a township N/E of Kampala; particularly stresses HIV/AIDS awareness) The Railways School Kampala (Spreads awareness of HIV/AIDS and the needs of those affected in the community). Read more
Note 2
NACWOLA , the National Community of Women Living with HIV-AIDS, based in Uganda has been using Child-to-Child approaches in its work with 393 women living with HIV-AIDS and their children. The organisation’s work is centred in four regions of Uganda including Gogonyo, Kibale, Budataka and Pallisa Town Council. Since 2001, NACWOLA has established community clubs for children. Children attend these clubs once a week and engage in activities like dancing, drumming and sharing experiences and are offered counselling. Older orphans also receive vocational training in tailoring and carpentry and are given small grants for income-generating activities like farming and goat rearing. NACWOLA has also initiated the Memory Project to support children and families affected by HIV-AIDS. Memory activities include writing wills and developing memory books which keep memories of parents alive in children. These activities have strengthened children’s resilience and have met their psychosocial needs.
Date: 2005
Source: Annet Biryetega, National Co-ordinator (nacwola@infocom.co.ug)
Note 3
ACET, the AIDS Care and Education Trust in Uganda, has used the Child-to-Child approach to conduct life skills sessions for some 1,912 children in 14 schools. Materials on life skills have also been developed for teachers to promote more positive perceptions about living with HIV-AIDS. ACET has also initiated joint seminars between children and their parents/guardians to enhance their communication and help them to cope with HIV-AIDS. ACET has also links with UNICEF and USAID and distributes materials on HIV-AIDS and sexual health on their behalf.
Date: 2005
Source: David Kabiswa, Director (kabiswa.david@acetug.org)
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