COVCC is an orphanage and community school for children who may still be living with family, but really need help.
Uganda has a particularly high number of orphans, with an estimated 10 per cent of children being cared for in orphanages. Two million Ugandan children have become orphans in the last decade. This problem has many root causes, with Uganda suffering heavily from an HIV epidemic in combination with a poor and underequipped healthcare system. This, coupled with widespread poverty and the spread of typhoid and malaria, has led to many children being orphaned. The lack of affordable healthcare is responsible for high rates of maternal and child mortality, with Ugandan women giving birth to five children on average, meaning that when a mother dies these children may be abandoned, or are put at greater risk of being so. In a country where this is an everyday reality for millions of children, education and guidance is the only path towards a better life.
COVCC in Kalagi, central Uganda was set up to alleviate this problem in their community, offering quality education, food and guidance to over 400 children who were desperately in need. COVCC teaches children literacy and numeracy skills as part of a varied curriculum so that they can find good employment.
This is why in partnership with Viva! COVCC now teaches its children to be kind to all kind, to respect wildlife and about healthy plant-based nutrition. Viva! also supplies COVCC with healthy greens, onions and tomatoes for their lunchtime vegan meals so that all the children have consistent access to highly nutritious food. It costs £6,000 to feed 400 children healthy veg for three terms.
In addition, to ensure that the children have a high-quality education, Viva! has supplied the orphanage with £5,000 worth of computer equipment, including multiple desktop computers, laptops, projector and screen. These children, the future of Uganda, will now leave the orphanage equipped to find work or further study; and ready to change the world and protect the unique and beautiful wildlife of their country.
Viva! Uganda is nurturing a long-term partnership with the orphanage to nurture young hearts. Children the world over naturally want to love animals and Ugandan kiddies are no different. The children love hearing about their country’s iconic wildlife, about being kind to cats and dogs and treating farmed animals with respect. They want to learn how to combat the climate crisis and wildlife extinctions. To understand how a good plant-based diet can give energy and great health. COVCC is an awesome orphanage that Viva! Uganda loves working with to bring positive change and hope to hundreds of young people.
