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Our work on ECD was previously under the umbrella of ‘The Urban Market Project’ which commenced implementation in 2008, following a Situational Analysis that looked at conditions in urban markets around Kampala.
The goal was ‘to improve the quality of Early Child Development for the children aged 0-8 years whose parents work in and around Nakawa market.The Urban Market Project commenced implementation in 2008, following a Situational Analysis that looked at conditions in urban markets around Kampala. The Project was first implemented at Kalelwe market in partnership with Miles2Smiles Day Care Centre for two years, 2008-2010, after which it was evaluated. The findings of the evaluation and showed that the project had made substantial changes in the lives of the project beneficiaries; mainly infants, children and their parents.
However, for hundreds of other mothers and a few fathers who scrape a living in Kampala's markets, bringing their children to the crowded markets is still not a matter of choice. Diseases such as cholera and typhoid are often endemic in the market surroundings and present life threatening challenges to the infants who have no choice but to live and grow up in the markets. In 2011, the project has expanded to two more day care centres that serve the heavily populated Nakawa market.
In order to realize the above goal, Ka Tutandike commited to achieve the following objectives;
- To decrease Early Childhood Development related problems faced by children 0-8 of low income earners who work in and around Nakawa market through a holistic approach
- To introduce or strengthen institutional, community and physical infrastructure and provide materials that support the project, with the community;
- To improve knowledge and build capacity of caregivers and parents around the area of play through sensitization and capacity building;
- To improve nutrition practices of caregivers and parents through sensitization and capacity building in nutrition, income generating activities and family life education.
- Policy framework
In implementing the ECD activities Ka Tutandike Uganda works within the national Early Childhood Development framework and Children's Act (1997). This is geared towards contributing to the objectives of the Convention on the rights of children to which Uganda is a signatory. Our interventions are also intended to complement efforts by Government and other stakeholders in an effort to contribute towards realizing the Millennium Development Goals that focus on reducing child mortality rate and promoting gender equality and empower women. Issues of gender and woman empowerment are of particular importance since at over 95%, women form the majority of the immediate caretakers of the benefiting children.
Achievements to date
Over the years, since its inception in 2008, our ECD work has registered a number of achievements, which have led to further Government support and expansion to a bigger and more densely populated markets.
Key achievements registered since 2008 include;
- Working with local structures to provide a safe haven, outside the market for children 0-8.
- Training parents and care givers in the basics of early childhood development, especially in the areas of child care, play and nutrition.
- Partnering with Government and other stakeholders to set up a referral system that helps and follows up the children from in and around the markets.
- To monitor, evaluate and document lessons learnt for purposes of further development.
Poverty and low incomes continue to be a challenge. Currently, the prevailing inflation and the hike in food prices is shifting the parents' attention away from long term planning for their children to immediate survival needs. This is complicated further by the burden of caring for the children falling on the women with male involvement being as low as 5%. Ka Tutandike is looking towards expanding the project to more markets and to taking on a more programmatic approach that includes income generating activities and HIV/AIDS prevention education.
The Situation in Uganda
Government investment in ECD in Uganda is low
The challenges to providing adequate care for young children are further compounded by war and displacement, chronic poverty, and disease
Many un-monitored pre-schools (Nurseries) for children aged 0-8 have been established, especially in the urban centers. Characteristically, they are located on poor premises, lack materials and trained carers/teachers and are often over-crowded.
Most are privately owned with the sole objective of preparing children for entrance into primary school and overlook the fundamental concept of childhood stimulation, psycho-social, mental and emotional development in early childhood.
Non-governmental organisations (NGO's), like Ka Tutandike are taking it upon themselves to address early childhood issues within the communities in which they work. These NGO's include: Plan Uganda, Action for Children, Madrassa Resource Center, UNICEF, Save the Children, and UCRNN. All of these organisations are are running commendable projects but operate within limited resources, and none of these organisations are able to run day care services for children under three years of age.
Today our ECD work is replicated beyond the urban markets in Kampala. We have scaled up our interventions to areas in the country where there is a very high incidence of poverty and need. |