Vision
Empower the vulnerable groups of people in the communities for development.
Mission
To support and coordinate efforts of the disadvantaged and marginalized groups of persons in the community to improve their lives.
Objectives
- To educate AIDS orphans and vulnerable children and assist in imparting them with skills as could make them useful citizens.
- To mobilize and support community activities for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and mitigation of the social economic effects of HIV/AIDS within the communities.
- To develop strategies to economically empower the most disadvantaged members of the community, including orphans and other vulnerable children, people with disabilities, elderly, widows, women, youths and the marginalized groups like the Pygmies (Batwa).
- To build capacity of other community based organizations especially those that work with the disadvantaged in areas of governance, project design, implementation and management.
- To improve emotional and physical health of older persons.
- To lessen the burden of dependents on older persons by supporting grandchildren under their care.
- To advocate for the rights of the disadvantaged and minority groups including the Pygmies Batwa.
- Collect and disseminate technologies to the vulnerable groups tailored for Agricultural modernization.
- To support efforts and strategies for conservation and protection of the environment (Environmental and Conservation).
Development Goals
The overall goal of the organization is to contribute to attainment of wellness of vulnerable people by adopting an integrated holistic approach to education, health care services, human Rights, poverty eradication, fighting ignorance and fostering development.
The mission of scosp is based on the following principles and values:
- Education Efficiency
- Gender Equity Empathy
- Human Rights Transparency
- Integrity Stewardship
- Accountability Professionalism
- Team work Confidentiality
Site for Community Services Program (SCOSP) is a registered Non profit, non partisan Community Based Organization. Many vulnerable groups of people in Uganda especially those in Kabale continue to face challenges related to; lack of access to quality education, poverty and diseases especially Malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and poverty. Therefore, Mr. Sabiiti Michael having lived in communities of disadvantaged people and among all odds making it to the university with support of a surrogate parent (Sponsor. Born to poor parents in a family of 8 children, Michael Sabiiti was sponsored and after completing his University education, he started visualizing his mission – a burning desire to help the needy children of this African continent. His vision became reality in 2010 when he and his wife Deborah founded “Site for Community Services Program”, registered as a non-profit Community Based organization in South western Uganda Uganda.
That having been said, in a nutshell SCOSP was founded in direct response to the above numerous challenges of disadvantaged people in Ugandan communities with support and coordination of their efforts to empower them for development.
Major Activities
SCOSP orphans and vulnerable children support program is dedicated to help disadvantaged children in Uganda and to augment their lives through free and high quality education and providing them viable opportunities in life to get out to poverty.
In this commitment we support disadvantaged people, needy HIV/AIDS orphans and other less fortunate children living with albism in Uganda, East-Africa and to enhance their lives through education.
We are providing high quality decent education to Albino children, AIDS orphans, children living with HIV and the formerly street children by paying school fees and giving school supplies to the orphans and albino children.
SCOSP is carryinging out Psychosocial Support to the Albino children and AIDS orphans.
Furthermore we are Improving the housing conditions of the grandmothers and improving their hygiene hygiene (by constructing Pit latrines).
SCOSP is also providing; clothing, food, medicine, footwear and general sportswear.
SCOSP provides education opportunities to the albino children, orphans and vulnerable children, supply of sanitary pads to school girls, supply of goats, seeds and chicken to needy families affected by diseases such as AIDS, Malaria and TB, Providing counselling and guidance to orphans with AIDS, improving the nutrition of children below the age of 5 years under the child survival and welfare program
Supply of scholastic materials and hygiene products to the albinos, Provision of sunscreens, head gears, sun glasses and glasses to improve on their low vision, protection, advocacy and activism for the rights of albinos in south western Uganda, educational out reaches, youth trainings for sustainable skills such as Tailoring and knitting, brick making, used straw processing to make crafts.
More than 80 youth have benefited from skills trainings, where young people are taught different skills in used straw processing, tailoring, Knitting and fashion design, computer training, ceramics, Carpentry & Joinery, metal fabrication, plumbing, finance control & management, work behavior & ethics, saloon management and hair dressing, Paper bag making, Environment management, Bricklaying concrete and Practice, Leather Tanning, Hand Craft training, After their training, they are expected to be able to produce good quality products leading to increase in Gross Domestic product and profitability. Secondly they will be able to effectively work in their village settings able to creating jobs among themselves. And
all our projects are community demand driven which has promoted community ownership of the projects.
Specific problems addressed and the approach
Albino children: 29 albino children have been saved as they were on the run from traffickers, those who are school going are in safe schools and those who are not school going age have been placed in safe homes. We will continue to solicit funds to build a rehabilitation center their safe place that will have a vocational training center for the benefit of these albino children. We have also taken those who were sick to the hospitals for medical attention. Those mothers of albino children of children who not of school going age that have been either chased from their homes or those mothers of albino children whose mothers have been abandoned by their husbands have abandoned, we have found safe homes for them and they are receiving nutritious food supplies for the children. We will empower these single mothers to be able to sustain through skills training such as tailoring and agriculture.
SCOSP is also addressing the high School dropout rates for rural girls because up to 80% of Ugandan girls entering primary school will never complete their primary education, high teenage pregnancies, high HIV infection, highest maternal death rates in the world. Research has found out that challenges faced by these girls during menstruation have contributed greatly to this drop out. Therefore SCOSP is empowering girls to keep in school by supplying reusable sanitary pads to school going girls which has increased their school attendance and ensuring that they are not at a risk of infections of their urinary duct due to using unsafe materials such as old dirty rags and sometimes leaves.
Albino children, Orphans with Aids and Aids affected families: SCOSP is addressing stigma and discrimination, relieving children from the life of fear for albino children by providing psychosocial support to them, supplying them with sun screens, sun glasses and head gear. They could not be able to see under the sun and we are preventing them from suffering from cancer, We have also involved the security organs to fight child trafficking, Advocacy, supply of scholastic materials, school uniforms to these albino children has enabled them to start school. Those whose father wanted to kill have been placed in a safe home. We have also been lobbying and advocating for them.
We are going to build a model albino school the first of its kind in the region.
Home based care services have been offered to these children living with AIDS and we have also been proving hygiene products as well as food supplies for the children living with the virus to adhere to the antiretroviral drugs. We have also enrolled these children in school and we have given them counseling and care. The same services have been offered for mothers living with the virus as for their children with HIV.
Quoting the words of the late hero Nelson Mandela “Education is the greatest weapon that we can use to change the world”.
Therefore, we belief providing education to these children in need will give them opportunities in life for a better future. This will be done if we construct a 7 class room block, a rehabilitation centre and a vocational centre. Also through vocational training, Agriculture, advocacy and activism, supply of reusable sanitary pads and training girls to make reusable sanitary pads, Home visits, HIV counselling and care, access to clean water and Agriculture we will make a big difference in the live of needy children and their families.
Project name
Improving the quality of life for Albino children and needy AIDS Orphans and their families in Ugandan Communities. 85% of Ugandans live in rural poverty; earning an average of $300 a year. More than 50% of the population is under 15 years old, and the education of these children is critical for Uganda’s economic development. Educating children living with AIDS, Albino children, AIDS orphans and needy girls is widely regarded as one of the best ways to improve the economy and health of developing countries. However, girls consistently fare well academically than boys but not to say that the needy boys are above average. However, academic performance correlated closely with school attendance, attendance and absenteeism and dropout rates are higher for rural Ugandan girls compare to boys for reasons linked to their reproductive systems. Girls are prone to menstruation, early pregnancy and for both HIV interference with their success at school. HIV infection in girls is 9 times that of boys the same age. Uganda has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world; Lack of education and financial inequalities between men and women mean that women often lack the power to control their reproductive health. Girls and other needy AIDS Orphans and needy children living HIV who frequently attend school earn a higher income in the future, are more dependent, and are more likely to be able to make well informed decisions about their sexual lives. Each additional year of educational attainment can reduce the risk of HIV infection and delay a woman’s first pregnancy especially grown up girls.
The project seeks to empower school girls through supply and make reusable sanitary pads and provide reproductive education to the girls menstruating. This will increase their attendance in school up to 95%.
The goal for the supply and making of Sanitary Pads is to create a self contained module, with a working operation and methodology manual including a complete Bill of materials; which will allow the down-stream projects to be easily implemented in other schools and locations. The goal for phase one is to supply 500 pads kits. This will take care of the immediate need of the girls in the pilot project.
Additionally, on a specific note, Albinism occurs in all racial and ethnic groups throughout the world however, in East Africa people living with this condition also have to contend with stigma and discrimination. In many African societies they are seen as bearers of bad luck. Often albino people are abandoned at birth and are shunned throughout their lives. Sometimes as family members look on in horror, groups of machete-wielding men have chopped off the legs, heads, and genitals of albinos. SCOSP is finding a solution to this problem as we work with children living with albinism in Uganda, providing them necessary care, creating educational opportunities and advocating for a more inclusive social environment and community activism.
Through this service projects we aim to address the physical and social needs of communities and to promote better relations between all people worldwide through a framework of friendship and partnership.
In partnership with Humanity Healing we have launched this albino project that targets young albino children rescued from traffickers. We want to empower these albino children to live a life free from fear giving them high quality free education which they ordinarily would have missed as they get prepared for a better future.
It is hard to imagine that child sacrifice still happens. It is even harder to imagine that child sacrifice is happening because of the color of an albino child's skin. Sacrifice of Albino Children is Still a Reality in Africa In late December 2013, SCOSP identified 14 albino children on the run from traffickers who sell them to witch doctors who sacrifice and use their body parts in "magic rituals". 10 of the children were rescued. In mid this year 2014 we rescued more albino children making a total of 29 albino children who have been placed in homes and others in school. Funding from GFC will help build a rehabilitation for these albino children to serve as their long-term safe location, keep them enrolled in school and not only give them Hope for a better future, but give them Hope a life - one free from fear.
This project will cover the medical care, sun screens, sun glasses, scholastic materials for the saved albino children and support the construction of a classroom block, vocational training centre and Albino Rehabilitation Center their long-term secure place and keep them enrolled in school to acquire free high quality education where they can concentrate on learning instead of living in fear.
SCOSP will support more 100 needy albino children and 600 AIDS orphans and 150 children living with HIV.
SCOSP is seeking funding to have the immediate impact of taking the weight of constant fear off the hearts of these albino children. Your long-term goal will be to help dispel the myths associated with albinism as more educated albino adults enter society.
“While any form of human trafficking is horrendous, the trafficking of children with albinism in Uganda and other regions of Africa is even more terrible as albinos are hunted for their body parts for use in “magic” rituals.
~ Michael Sabiiti
The overall goal of the project is to help empower communities and girl children so as to enhance their full participation and benefits in society and benefit from the participation.
Location
Kabale, Uganda
Website
Site for Community Services Program
Facebook page: Site for Community Services Program
