Over the last 16 years, Kids Club Kampala has stood side by side with children and families in Kampala’s slum communities, ensuring that every child has the opportunity not just to survive but to thrive. Our projects have always been driven by the voices of the people we serve, and as our work has grown, so too has our commitment to understanding how we can improve.
That’s why we welcomed the findings of our Independent Evaluation—a rigorous review of our impact, coherence, and sustainability across our Feeding, Protecting, Educating, and Skilling Programmes, conducted in 2023 . The evaluation praised our holistic approach, recognising how our projects work together to bring lasting change. It also challenged us to scale up our child protection efforts, increase outreach, strengthen sustainability, and deepen our impact.
Taking this feedback on board, we’ve spent the past year making significant changes. From rescuing and reuniting more children with families, to expanding access to education and empowering parents with skills that provide financial independence, we have worked to ensure that our programmes don’t just change lives today but for generations to come.
This is how we’ve turned insights into action—and the impact we’ve seen along the way.
From emergency support to sustainability
For over a decade, our Feeding Programme had ensured that children don’t go hungry. The evaluation reaffirmed its importance, but also urged us to shift from emergency food aid to long-term solutions.
In 2023, we scaled back our food banks and reallocated resources to tackle the root causes of food insecurity. Despite this shift, in 2024, we ensured that 98 children continued to receive daily hot meals, and we distributed 204 food parcels, benefiting 973 individuals. In total, we provided 129.37K meals throughout the year, ensuring that no child went hungry while we worked toward sustainable solutions.
"During this difficult time, we have been supported by Kids Club Kampala, who provided us with regular food parcels to keep us going." – Delia*, food support recipient
One of the most powerful examples of this shift is our support for struggling families. A single father, who lost everything and was forced to place his children in the Ewafe home, was given two acres of farmland to grow food and generate income. He is now working towards bringing his children home, ensuring they have a stable future beyond food aid.
*name has been changed
Expanding child safeguarding and family reintegration
Keeping children safe and ensuring they grow up in secure, loving environments remains at the heart of our work. The Independent Evaluation highlighted the need to strengthen child protection efforts and expand family reintegration, leading to significant progress in 2024.
At Ewafe, our emergency care home for abandoned and at-risk children, we are currently providing shelter, counselling, and education to 86 children. Over the past year, we rescued 15 children from abuse and abandonment and successfully reintegrated 19 children into family-based kinship care, ensuring they can grow up surrounded by relatives who love and support them.
Beyond direct interventions, we responded to 22 child protection cases, advocating for vulnerable children through the legal system. Our team also strengthened community safeguarding, onboarding 40 new safeguarding officers and recognising our dedicated child protection volunteers with an end-of-year appreciation event.
One of the children we supported this year was Joshua*, a young boy who went missing after being left in the care of an older cousin. His grandmother feared she would never see him again, but after being admitted to Ewafe, our team worked tirelessly to locate his family and reunite them.
“Unfortunately, whilst left in the care of his older cousin, my grandson Joshua* went missing. I was so scared and feared we may never find him. After he was admitted to the Ewafe project, Kids Club Kampala began looking for our family so we could be reunited. If it wasn’t for this organisation, we may never have found Joshua. Thank you!” – Joshua’s Grandmother
*name has been changed
Educating Programme – expanding access and tracking progress
Ensuring that children stay in school, receive quality education, and achieve long-term success has remained a top priority. The Independent Evaluation identified the need to reach more children and strengthen student tracking, leading to key improvements in 2024.
Every day, 90 children now attend our encouraging education project, where they receive a hot, nutritious meal alongside their lessons. Our child sponsorship project has expanded, with 15 new children sponsored this year, bringing the total to 179 sponsored students. This builds on progress made in 2023, when we introduced performance assessments, revealing that over 70 children scored A grades—evidence of the project’s effectiveness.
With education at the heart of breaking the cycle of poverty, we remain committed to ensuring that children reunited with their families through Ewafe can continue their learning. Thanks to the Gweneth Fund, a fund set up by one of our donors in honour of his mum's legacy, 16 children recently reintegrated with their families have now secured sponsorship, ensuring that returning home does not mean falling behind in school.
“I am so grateful for everything my sponsor has done for me because I did not know that time would come when I am a professional teacher. You made all this possible for me with the grace of God. Thank you very much.” – Sarah*, child sponsorship graduate
By expanding outreach, improving tracking, and ensuring consistent access to education, we are giving more children the opportunity to excel and create a brighter future.
*name has been changed
Skilling Programme – building economic independence
The Independent Evaluation recommended that we diversify vocational training and improve accessibility for parents. In response, we expanded opportunities ensuring that more individuals—especially women and young people—gain the skills to build sustainable livelihoods.
The opening of the Hope Centre in Naguru doubled our training capacity. In 2023, we trained 160 women in tailoring and knitting, 20 students in carpentry, and invested in an industrial knitting machine to begin producing sweaters for income generation. Recognising childcare as a major barrier, we set up a dedicated children’s room and employed a caregiver, making it possible for more parents to attend training.
In 2024, we expanded further, with 146 individuals enrolled in tailoring and knitting courses, and 12 young people studying carpentry. We also introduced business training, with 87 students receiving support to turn their skills into sustainable income streams. Beyond training, we provided 4 families with income-generating support, ensuring they had the resources to start small businesses and gain financial independence.
One of our carpentry students, Rodney*, had never worked with furniture before. After just five months of training, he started making stools, bookshelves, and wardrobes—earning money for the first time in his life.
"I didn’t know anything about furniture-making before joining the project, but after five months of training, I am proud that I can now make stools, chairs, bookshelves, and TV stands. I am extremely proud that I have even started making some money out of the skill. I am super proud of being part of this project." – Rodney*, carpentry graduate
By expanding training, integrating business support, and removing barriers like childcare, we are ensuring that more individuals can build sustainable livelihoods and break free from poverty.
*name has been changed
New initiatives – strengthening our impact
Beyond expanding existing programmes, we also launched new initiatives to meet growing needs:
Foster care project: Recognising the importance of family-based care, we introduced a new foster care initiative to ensure more children grow up in loving homes.
Football expansion: We opened a new football centre, doubling the number of children to 64 players.
Support for girls and women: We distributed 6,000 period products to teenage girls, reducing school absenteeism and ensuring that menstruation is never a barrier to education.
One of the children impacted by our foster care project is Ronnie*, who was abandoned by relatives and left without food; after months of searching, we found him a foster home with Aidah, his foster parent, where he has integrated well into her family, passed his primary leaving exams, and is now thriving in secondary school.
*name has been changed
Looking to the future
We have come a long way, from a small grassroots initiative to an organisation supporting over 300,000 children and families across 10 communities.
But we are not stopping here.
The economic crisis, shifting international aid, and growing needs in Kampala’s slums make it more urgent than ever to scale up our work. Our vision for the future is clear: We envision a world where every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Expand child protection services to reach more at-risk children.
Grow our vocational training programmes to empower more families.
Strengthen educational support so that no child is left behind.
We have big plans, but we cannot do this alone. We need funders, partners, and supporters who share our belief that every child deserves a future full of hope and opportunity.
To learn more about our impact, click here.
If you would like to be part of this journey—whether by donating, sponsoring a child, or supporting our work in another way—we would love to hear from you. Contact us at fundraising@kidsclubkampala.org to find out more.
Together, we can help children move from surviving to thriving.
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