Caring hands-järjestö

Kaksi viikkoa harjoittelupaikkanamme oli ihana caring hands-järjestö! Suomalaislähtöistä järjestöä vetää edelleen ihana ja energinen Milla, joka on kyllä työlleen hyvin omistautunut ihminen. Järjestö siis kerää varoja myymällä koruja, jotta voivat järjestää slummissa asuville nuorille bisneskoulutusta. Näin he oppivat yrityksen pyörittämisestä ja voivat tarjota perheelleen parempaa tulevaisuutta. Tämä on siis äärettömän tärkeää kestävää kehitystä tukevaa toimintaa. Jos ikinä päädyt Ugandaan, poikkea ihmeessä tämän paikan kautta tai tue toimintaa nettisivu-shoppailun kautta!

Harjoittelumme aikana teimme kotikäyntejä osallisina olevien koululaisten koteihin ja yrityksiin. Iltapäivisin me teimme haastatteluja nuorille ja kirjotimme heistä raportteja järjestön sosiaalista mediaa varten. Yksi mahtavimmista kokemuksista oli ehdottomasti tämä paikka. Alla nettisivuilta kopioitu esittelyteksti caring handsin toiminnasta, sekä seuraavassa postauksessa kerron järjestön tukemien ihmisten elämäntarinoita lyhyesti. 

”Background of Caring Hands

There was no intention of starting Caring Hands. It began “by accident.” There was no funding to start the organization. It was set in motion to meet an acute need that we were confronted with. It all began when we reached out to our community at Christmas 2005 with the “You give them something to eat” campaign. We ended up reaching 120 families (600 people) living in poverty. The original purpose of providing a nice Christmas meal ended up feeding these families for one month. The question soon arose: “What happens when the food runs out?” Caring Hands was created as a result, to address this challenge and the causes leading to it.

Caring Hands is a registered non–governmental charitable organization that operates from its coordinating office on Serunkuma road plot 19–29 Mbuya, Kampala. The organization was founded to provide aid to needy people in the surrounding community and to help them overcome the cycle of poverty. Caring Hands pursues this through training and leading needy people to get involved in income generating activities such as making jewelry from recycled paper and selling them in local and international markets.” (http://www.caringhands.fi/index.php?s=53&l=ug)

 

”Brief description of activities

Caring Hands reaches out to the most vulnerable families especially in slums to empower them with life skills. The most vulnerable are enabled to pursue their human rights of an adequate standard of living, food, employment, access to adequate health care, education and information.

Handmade recycled material jewelry

Jewelry hand made out of recycled materials such as paper beads; recycled paper cards, album and boxes; palm doum jewelry mainly made at Caring Hands center are sold to generate income for both the artisans selected in the community and running the program. 

Socioeconomic empowerment

The selected heads of households receive training in Village Savings and Loans Associations, Entrepreneurial Development and successfully running their micro businesses. We facilitate the establishment of Village Savings groups by providing saving kits. We follow up on micro businesses to ensure success and sustainability. Women are trained in weaving baskets to sell and get an income.

Psychosocial support, health care and education

We conduct home visitations to provide counseling and spiritual support. We organize sports and recreation events targeting Orphans and other Vulnerable Children (OVC) as well as the youths. During the visits the ill persons are identified are referred to medical centers or hospitals for medical treatment. We facilitate OVC to regularly attend classes through payment of their tuition and other school fees, distribution of scholastic materials. We also conduct Functional Adult Learning classes.

Human Rights
Through workshops and seminars, we sensitize members of the community in their role and responsibility as duty bearers and rights holders in the basic human rights.” (http://www.caringhands.fi/index.php?s=53&l=ug)