Capital: Kampala
Area: 241,038 km²
Population: 27.3 million (July 2005)
Ethnic groups: Bantu tribes (e.g. the Baganda, Basogo, Bunyoro, and Acholi), Pygmies, Europeans, Asians, and Arabs
Official language(s): English and Swahili
Religion(s): Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous beliefs, and Muslim
Currency: 1 Ugandan shilling = 100 cents
SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country
The initiatives of SOS-Kinderdorf International in Uganda started in 1988 with the signing of a government agreement. The establishment of the SOS Children's Village Kakiri in a small village not far from the capital Kampala was SOS Children's Villages' first project. The location was purposely selected in the Luwero Triangle since this region had been particularly badly hit by the war in 1985. At the same location, SOS Children's Villages also established a kindergarten, a primary and secondary school and a medical centre and thereby makes a positive contribution to the improvement of the living standard of the neighbourhood. In June 1997, after several years of continued efforts, the "SOS Children's Villages of Uganda Trust", was founded. The SOS Children's Village work in Uganda has been under the patronage of Uganda's First Lady, Mrs. Museveni since 1997.
The demand for social facilities for orphans is great, not least of all due to the growing Aids pandemic, and consequently the second SOS Children's Village was established in Entebbe, Uganda. A new government agreement with the Republic of Uganda was signed on 14 March 2002, which guarantees an increased recognition and support of the SOS Children's Village work on the part of the government.
In June 2002 SOS Uganda started an SOS Emergency Relief Programme in Gulu, in order to provide active assistance to displaced children in the north of the country. In the meantime permanent SOS facilities carry on to help the children and the needy population in Gulu: a temporary SOS Children’s Village cares for some of the many displaced children who could not be reunited with their families. The children and coworkers are looking forward to move into their new homes, when the permanent village will have been finished in the course of 2007. The SOS Social Centre Gulu provides various services to vulnerable children and families in the area.
At present there are three SOS Children's Villages, one SOS Youth Facility, two SOS Kindergartens, one SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, one SOS Social Centre and one SOS Medical Centre in Uganda.
Contact:
SOS Children's Villages Uganda
National Office
P.O. Box 27510
Kampala
Uganda
tel. +256-414-322 247
fax +256-414-322 248