Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I hope that everything is going on well with you. I am Walwasa Martin, a born again Christian and a Ugandan by Nationality. Uganda is one of the six (6) countries which make up East Africa and it is the poorest country with a high population of people with HIV / AIDS, farming is the main source of their income. Currently the states of less for fortunate children in Uganda are encompassed with immense suffering. Very many children grow up without access to basic necessities of life, clothing, bedding, food, health care and protection. They will never have an education, treats of love. But at best card boards to sleep on, rugs to wear, dumped sacks for beddings and a cup of porridge as a day’s meal, garbage bins, trenches, and alleys for homes. It is due to this situation that I started visualizing a burning desire to serve this dying future generation our country. My vision became a reality in 2008 when I was joined up by a team of passionate and devoted people and we formed “Organization for Community Transformation (OCT)”. However, it wasn’t a walk over until the year 2012 that OCT officially registered as an independent, Indigenous, Community-Based Organization with its headquarters in Wakitaka 10 kilometers from Jinja, a town in Eastern Uganda; about 84.0 Kilometers from Kampala the capital of Uganda. Though started as a community based organization, OCT soon upgraded to a non-governmental organization to better handle the anticipated future characterized by abject poverty and the unending spread of HIV/AIDS. OCT works in; 

1.  Assessing child welfare needs for orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children and coordinating resources for their care.
2.  Providing formal education for orphans and vulnerable children whose families are affected by AIDS
3.  Empowering widows economically through pursuing income generating activities and vocational training.
4.  Providing psychosocial care to widows and children whose lives have been affected by AIDS
5.  Sensitizing and educating communities about HIV/AIDS.
6.  Providing mobile palliative care for people living with AIDS.
7.  Providing spiritual care and support

OCT’S STATEMENT OF NON-DISCRIMINATION:

OCT is a non segregative organization serving all needy children and widows with equal opportunity regardless of their skin color, sex, tribe or religious background. 

OUR VISION

To ensure that the children we care for are in an environment that empowers and builds them up to reach their God given potential. We believe that every life matters and our passion are for these children to follow their heart, run after their passion, pursue their dreams and live life with a purpose. 

MISSION STATEMENT:

The mission of OCT is to bring up orphaned and needy children by ways and means of meeting their spiritual, physical and social needs and reaching out to all widows facing welfare problems in both rural and urban communities

OCT ACTIVE PROGRAMS

PERMANENT FOSTER CARE FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN

UNICEF estimates that twelve million children and adolescents in Sub- Saharan Africa are orphans, having lost one or both parents to AIDS (UNICEF, 2011) specifically in Uganda, 6.5 percent of adult population lived with HIV and 1.2 million children and adolescents were orphaned due to AIDS in 2009 (UNAIDS, 2010) . Orphan hood does not only affect a child or adolescent who grows up without a parent, but it also exerts additional economic pressure on the family. Given this context, as we identify children that have lost their parents, we trace the next of kin to try and place them there, so as to keep that unique semblance of ancestral attachment going. In the absence of relatives, we identify homes with the ability to take in an extra child and then place them there. These homes are expected to treat the orphans as though they are their own children, by providing them with whatever their families would: food, shelter, medical care, education, clothing, but above all, love without peripheral qualifications. OCT now visits these homes after every two weeks to supervise and ascertain compliance to OCT’s child foster standards.

NEW MOON CHILDREN’S HOUSE:

In the absence of a suitable home for orphaned and vulnerable children, OCT provides a family environment where children can grow and get the necessary skills in order to be independent and valuable contributors to their communities and largely to the country’s economic and social development. Children’s needs are complex and require physical, social, developmental, and spiritual care to raise them with a sense of self confidence and self-worth.

NEW MOON PRE-SCHOOL:

Nelson Mandela is quoted to have said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world; our pre- school program provides a safe child care environment for working mothers and an enriching early childhood education curriculum that prepares young children for formal education. The school enrolls 25 orphans and vulnerable children annually who are either living at New moon children’s house or children who come from our community that meet OCT’s qualifications as needy Children. As we are able to meet the needs, we intend to add a class as time goes should resources for construction and sustainability of day to day activities become available.
As the child progresses to middle primary to secondary level of education, we partner with public schools to make education possible for orphans and vulnerable children who would otherwise find it difficult as OCT pays school fees with support from our international sponsors and the community members.
The majority of sponsored children are children who lost either one or both parents and girls who are disproportional denied access to education.

MENTORING PROGRAM:

Our mentoring program works to support and keep secondary students in school. At a time when they are more at- risk of dropping out of school. Working with our partner schools, this monthly course covers topics on building strong self- esteem and leadership, making healthy decisions and creating a bright future. To date, this program has benefited over hundreds of young people in secondary schools. 

WIDOWS ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROJECTS

It is women who assume much of the responsibility for orphaned children ultimately. The income generation capacity of these households is profoundly constrained by numerous dependent children, lack of opportunity to accumulate productive resources like cattle, goats and farming implements and difficulty in gaining access to credit. They are further constrained by limited education and training which limits employability. OCT has countered  this trend by organizing widows in groups, and then offering them training in different trade skills of their own choice and demonstrable ability for sustainability. OCT raises support for sewing machines for groups of three (3) widows, supplies for crafts, livestock and Farming supplies. We know that it’s a task we could never accomplish without the helping hand of friends like you. We indeed pray that you will be encouraged to partner with us to give these children the future they deserve.

Please donate to us by Net banking at;
Organisation for Community Transformation Uganda
Account No: 61636660006.
Swift Code: AFRIUGKA
Bank of Africa Uganda Ltd, Jinja Branch
Email: orgforcommunitytransformation@gmail.com or martinwalwasa@gmail.com
Tel: +256785328349 or +256702838033
Website: www.freetocharities.org.uk/oct
Thanks for your interest in donating to OCT.

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