Projects

Please click on the links to the right for detailed information about the various Projects Oasis Uganda runs.

What we do

We want to nurture an environment of holistic development for vulnerable people to enable them reach their God-given potential through the following ways;

Oasis Uganda works in partnership with other organisations, churches and other local stakeholders wherever possible to lessen the risk of duplication of services and to increase long-term sustainability.

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Education

Latest figures indicate that less than 71.1% of the children aged 6-15 years are enrolled in schools at primary level in Uganda. This figure covers those living both in the rural and urban areas. The numbers drop significantly at a Secondary level, and the number of children who actually complete full basic education is unacceptably low.

Every child has a right to receive education and in support of this, Oasis Uganda provides a comprehensive education programme through the Bambejja Child Support Project in Kampala and the Beersheba Project in Mbale.  Through Bambejja we support girls aged 6-18 in local community schools and offer additional support classes after-school and in holidays to help them make better progress. 

At both Bambejja and the Beersheba Project we run a ‘Catch Up’ programme in basic literacy and numeracy for girls who are not attending formal education. As these children have a chance to learn, the hope is that they will in future be able to earn a decent living and break free from the poverty and slum-dwelling that has categorised their parents’ lives.

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Community Development

Lasting impact in vulnerable children’s lives involves their families and the wider community. Typically, families living in slum areas experience

• over-crowding
• poor sanitation
• drug and alcohol abuse
• sexual promiscuity
• child labour and abuse

In these low-income areas, unemployment is rife and on average 6 people share a single one-roomed house, with at least 10 families using 1 toilet and make-shift bathroom, and eating 3 meals a day is thought to be a luxury.

Oasis Uganda desires to address some of the issues in these communities through the Bambejja Family Support and Resettlement Project situated in Kampala and the Beersheba Project in Mbale. 

These projects work with the local authorities and volunteers from the community to carry out the following activities:

• Training in aspects of life skills, parenting skills, health and hygiene, food and nutrition, family counselling, HIV/AIDS awareness, care for people living with HIV/AIDS and child protection.
• Economic empowerment support in terms of setting up income generating activities to boost their incomes in order to become self sufficient.

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Skills Development and Entrepreneurship

Majority of the young people (15-20) stop going school in Uganda do so due to

• lack of school fees,
• early pregnancies
• responsibilities at home

and they are unlikely to continue with their education.  They are left without any skills or knowledge to help them find jobs to fend for themselves and their families.   

Oasis seeks to help such young people by developing their skills through entrepreneurship and vocational training.

Through the Bambejja Skills Training Project, Bambejja Family Support and Resettlement Project and Net2Work Uganda, we are able to instil hope in those people for whom meaningful employment seems an impossible dream.

Skills including catering, tailoring, craft-making, hairdressing and computing are taught alongside basic business and money management skills to enable vulnerable people to be job-creators as well as potential employees.

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Health and HIV/AIDS

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has left, and is still leaving, wounds and scars in lives of children, families and the communities. Major consequences include orphan crisis, child-headed homes and broken families.

Oasis Uganda, through the Bambejja Family Support and Resettlement Project, Beersheba Project, Bambejja Child Support Project, Net2Work Uganda and Bambejja Skills Training Project has become actively involved through:

Preventative methods including

• HIV/AIDS awareness training sessions
• Peer group role plays
• HIV/AIDS testing and counselling
• Life skills training

Care of people living with HIV and AIDS including

• Food supplements
• Hospital visits and Anti-Retroviral Treatment
• Counselling

In addition to HIV/AIDS prevention and care, Oasis Uganda provides training in basic safe health practices like good hygiene, nutrition and how to avoid common illnesses such as malaria. Basic sexual health is also taught to decrease the numbers of people contracting sexually transmitted infections other than HIV. Through this, we are helping people to avoid sicknesses which drain them economically as well as physically, and thus promoting a better quality of life for vulnerable groups.

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Advocacy

Human rights are being violated today in many ways in Uganda, such as child abuse and abduction, grabbing of family property, sexual abuse and human trafficking. Oasis Uganda seeks to stand out as a voice for the vulnerable, marginalised and exploited people in Uganda. We are doing this through:

• Carrying out sensitisation and awareness campaigns against human trafficking through our involvement with Stop The Traffik, a global campaign against human trafficking
• Equipping families, especially women, with knowledge on the importance of writing wills to protect their property and children
• Emphasizing child rights and protection within the organisation and around the communities through training schools, our clients and local people about the importance of child protection.

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Resource Development

In order to increase our impact across Uganda, Oasis Uganda has developed resources and materials that can be adopted and used by other organisations that are working with children and young people.

We have developed the Oasis English Literacy Catch-Up Programme and the Oasis Numeracy Catch-Up Programme to help projects working with children who have missed out on education.

The manuals help project staff to use interactive methods and small group work to accelerate learning. ‘Step by Step’ is a resource developed to help projects monitor the progress children are making - educationally, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. 

All these resources are being utilised in our different projects with plans to train and equip other organisations in the future.

 

We are very grateful for everyone who supports our work and we would like to thank AVSI, the British High Commission, Hope HIV, Anchor Foundation, Irish Aid, Operation Agri and Grace Church for partnering with us in bringing a difference in the lives of the girls, young people and their families that we work with.

 

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