Saturday Kids Club
Saturday Kids Clubs are what we began doing (hence our name!) and are still at the heart of what we do. Every Saturday throughout the year, up to 1000 children gather together across different slum communities to play, be cared for and just enjoy being children.
The Project
Our Saturday Kids Clubs provide children with a safe space and the chance to play and enjoy being children, away from the challenges and struggles of their everyday lives. Here, children can come have fun, talk about their struggles or worries and receive love and attention. Our Saturday Clubs run in nine different centres across Kampala, allowing us to reach more children across the city.
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Each Kids Club is run by a team of local volunteers who have a desire to see the lives of children in their community change for the better. These volunteers give up their time each week to organise games and sports; sing songs; lead Bible teaching, dramas and stories; facilitate counselling sessions and serve the children a meal. Having the opportunity just to play and have fun is so important. Play is incredibly therapeutic for young children who have experienced trauma, abuse or other challenges in their lives.
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The context
The weekly club is so important to the children who attend. For many, it’s their only opportunity to attend an organised activity with other children their age, since many do not have the opportunity to go to school. For others, it may be the only chance they have to express themselves and feel secure and listened to by our volunteers.
Through running these clubs, our volunteers are able to identify children who are at-risk or in need of emergency help due to abandonment, lack of education or food insecurity and be referred to our other projects.
Our Impact
Rosie's Story
Life in Kampala’s slums is not easy. I sometimes feel unsafe walking around the slums. People smoke and men catcall us. I thank Kids Club Kampala for helping my community. I learn a lot from the counselling and guidance sessions. I also enjoy Bible studies and I like helping other children to read the Bible. In the future, I hope I am able to work hard and help my parents, maybe even move away from the slum. I want my family to be proud of me and be sure they didn’t work hard for nothing to afford my school fees.
The Kids Club Kampala Way
Why we’re different
Our Protecting Programme is part of the wa​y we are uniquely supporting children in Kampala slums survive and thrive.
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At Kids Club Kampala, we believe that every child is unique, special and deserves to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Our work is based on a holistic approach, where we focus on meeting the immediate needs of children and families in the slums while empowering them to bring about long-term, sustainable changes in their lives. Our approach encompasses four core project areas: feeding, protecting, educating, and skilling.
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These four areas are not siloed; they work together holistically to create a supportive environment for vulnerable children and their families. We firmly believe in a holistic approach, ensuring that children and families have their basic needs met (food, safety) so they can fully engage with and benefit from education and skills development. This approach helps them move from merely surviving to truly thriving, as stated in our theory of change.