INITIAL SITUATION

Uganda is a landlocked East African country that borders on the crisis regions of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the north, Uganda borders on Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa. Uganda’s population is estimated at around 42,7 million people (2018). The official languages are English and Swahili, but over 40 different languages and dialects are spoken in the country. The history of Uganda is characterized by a long and violent military dictatorship that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives after the country’s decolonization and independence in the 1970s. The armed conflict lasted until 2006. In addition to the unrest, an HIV epidemic broke out in the country in the 1980s, which claims many lives to this day. The number of orphans in Uganda has increased dramatically since then. Almost a third of all orphans in Uganda lost their parents to the HIV epidemic. As a rule, orphans are taken in and cared for by the clan-like village community. In some places, however, the high number of orphans is now overloading the village community.

The project school, “St. John Bosco School”, is located in the Mukono district of the fishing village of Katosi , near the capital Kampala. The main sources of income of the residents are fishing and agriculture.

Katosi was severely hit by the AIDS epidemic, which is why it is estimated that around 70% of the village population is infected today. The “St. John Bosco School” was launched by the “Katosi Intercommunity Development Alliance” (KIDA), a small local aid organization, which erected a makeshift wooden building together with the village community in 2010. Additionally, a teaching staff was hired. So far, the venture has been financed by means of the village community. The school offers orphans and the otherwise poorest children in the area free education. Since schools in Uganda generally take school attendance fees, it would otherwise be unaffordable for these children. A friend of the organization first became aware of the school during private travels. In 2015, the then board member Marilena Frank traveled to Katosi to get to know KIDA and the school. They took inventory and carried out a basic assessment. At that time, around 165 children between the ages of 5 and 13 were being taught from first to seventh grade.