ABOUT UGANDA
Uganda, country in east-central Africa. About the size of Great Britain, Uganda is populated by dozens of ethnic groups. The English language and Christianity help unite these diverse peoples, who come together in the cosmopolitan capital of Kampala, a verdant city whose plan includes dozens of small parks and public gardens and a scenic promenade along the shore of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake. The Swahili language unites the country with its East African neighbors Kenya and Tanzania.
Ugandan families and communities struggle to access healthcare, education and other basic services and young children often suffer disproportionately.
Why Uganda
Uganda is home to over two million orphaned children, with over half losing their parents due to HIV. The vast majority of Ugandans live in rural areas and earn their living from subsistence agriculture, with half the population living on less than $1 per day. The country’s health indicators are among the lowest in Africa, with almost 7% of children passing away before their fifth birthday. OCIA began work in Uganda in Nansana Village, in Wakiso District, by building a Believe in Me Education so all the children in the rural village & Urban center can now have access to education.
We then began changing the lives of orphaned and abandoned children at the Ocia Haven Village Home through our Together As One Program. The Ocian's and toddlers in this program often arrive severely malnourished and with complex health needs.
With in 2019, Ocia was one of the charities in Uganda implementing care for orphan children. As children are cared for at the Ocia Haven Village Home, we then graduate the children to care in the local community.
We are committed to the reunification of abandoned children by their families whenever possible and work with local social workers to transform children to grow in love and become prepared, to eventually one day leave the orphanage and become productive in the community.
Discovering Generous Heart
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How do I choose a child?You can choose any children via our Meet the Kids page and email us.We will send you detailed description of the child, which will include information about their past, age, and personality and how long they have been with OCIA.
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Can I sponsor a child who Is already sponsored?No, you can't sponsor a child that is already sponsored accordance with OCIA Policy will decline a prospective children's data that is monitored regularly by Ursbso we offer the option to sponsor another child who also needs support. Thank you for your understanding!
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Can I share photos of my sponsored child on social media?We know many of our grant sponsors form deep bonds to their sponsored children and want to share their progress with family and friends. Any photo sent to donors can be shared publicly, as we change the name of the child for their privacy. We always ask supporters to keep certain health information private, such as HIV or Hep B status, to protect the child.
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How much does it cost to sponsor a child?It costs 75 euros/ month to sponsor a child, you can also co-sponsor a child for 37 euros/month. Ideally it’s great if you can find a friend to co-sponsor with that will share your journey through the child’s life with them, otherwise, we can find another person to co-sponsor.
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How can I pay my monthly sponsorship?This will be paid by standing order with your bank. We will provide you with a standing order sheet to be filled and signed, and given to your bank to authorise the funds being removed from your account once a month. You can pay monthly via paypal or a credit card system.
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Can I sponsor more than one child?Yes! You can sponsor as many as you like! Of course if you have children a similar age as our children in Uganda they may like to sponsor one each. We also have several sets of siblings, and one pair of twin girls!
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Can I co-sponsor a child with someone else?Absolutely, no problem. In this case you would need to find that person to share the 37 euro monthly cost with you and you will both receive combined communication.
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Will the child know who their sponsors are?They will do, unless the sponsor specifically wishes not to be known.
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Will I have direct contact with the child?We will ensure that each sponsor receives an email every quarter. This will contain a report as to how the child is progressing, with school reports, their health and general progress. The ocian will also write a personal letter / drawing (depending on their age). It will be nice for sponsors to send a photo/ letter/ video of themselves to the child too (maybe with the sponsors family would like to get involved too, children often enjoy the interaction.) We are setting up a new email address with the sole purpose of interaction between the sponsors and children, managed by the team on the ground. We would love to be able to send hard copy documents but the postal service is extremely corrupt in Uganda and documents rarely arrive unless they are sent by courier service. We will also try to record videos of the children’s reading and singing etc but bear with us on that whilst we put it into place!
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Can I send my child presents on their birthday and Christmas Holidays?Due to the issues with post offices in Uganda, we suggest that we create a list of items that the children like and the month of the child’s birthday, we give them that present on your behalf, and the same at Christmas. You may like to try and send a package by courier and see whether it arrives.
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What are donations to your general fund used for?Donations to our general fund are used to help children in all of our programs. Many times we have unexpected needs arise, and general funds are used to help make up the difference. For example, sometimes a infrastrusture project more than originally anticipated, or perhaps Ocian needs medicine for an illness. General fund donations are used wherever there is the greatest need.
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What if I need to stop sponsoring the child?We totally understand that due to circumstances changing, people may have to stop their sponsorship. If you can give us 2-3 months’ notice it would be great, so that we can find the child another sponsor and also explain to them as they will be writing to a new sponsor.
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Can I visit the child?Infact. We really encourage all our sponsors to take the trip out to visit the children at OCIA. It’s an amazing life changing experience. Just let us know and we will be happy to welcome you and help organise it.
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Does OCIA accept donations such as clothing or school supplies?OCIA prefers to support the local economies in the Uganda where we work, and so we buy most of our needed program supplies in-country. Occasionally we accept donations of certain items for specific projects, but due to customs regulations and postage costs, this only happens a few times each year, such as fundraising for the year campaigns.
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Africa is known to have issues with HIV. Are any of the children HIV positive?None of our children is HIV positive.
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How can I volunteer with Ocia Org?We appreciate your interest in volunteering with OCIA and would welcome your Volunteer Application. Some additional suggestions on ways to help can be found on our .Get Involved page