Reports
Please see our reports below to find out what we have been up to
2022 Annual Report
This is a report of Dwelling Places’ performance for the period January to December against the 2022 approved work plans.
During the reporting period it was noticed that there was an overwhelming number of street-connected children on the streets compared to the previous years due to the persistent cattle rustling activities that were in the Karamoja sub-region and left many families displaced as they migrated to areas, they felt safer to stay. Karamoja as a region was also hit by hunger which was due to prolonged harsh weather conditions thus a push for outmigration of children to the streets of Kampala.
Many children from the Karamoja region through our intervention, continue to report that they have been trafficked by people not known to them, though some are relatives who bring them to work as “babysitter”; however, reaching Kampala, they are sent to the streets to beg which is a form of abuse. Following the launch of the Kampala Capital City Child Protection Ordinance 2022, and the rescue by the KCCA enforcement team, we have seen children moving to the suburbs of the city for street begging.
Schools were closed earlier than planned in the third term due to the Ebola pandemic which also led to the increase of children on the streets towards the end of the year. We have further observed that the number of street connected children increases during the school holiday and reduces during the school term which confirms that schools act as a safety net for the children.
This year we noted that there were more none Karamojong boys on the streets than girls while we have more girls from the Karamoja region than boys. This has led to an increase in the number of rescued children thus affecting the target. Dwelling Places, in partnership with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Uganda Women’s Effort to Save Orphans (UWESO), Uganda Change Agent Association, International Organisation for Cooperation and Development, Koblin Center in Napak under the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development rehabilitated the children. In this year, we have been able to offer various services including;
● 668 children (246 boys and 422 girls) were interacted with through the 34 street outreaches conducted in Kampala District in the year 2022. The outreaches involved the mobile school on wheels, a tool we use to attract children to play and learn at the same time.
● 606 children (156 Male & 450 Female) were safeguarded through interception and rescue from the streets of Kampala while others were in transit in the areas of Katakwi, Mbale and Napak districts.
● 448 children (305 girls and 143 boys) received rehabilitation services in our Transitional Rehabilitation Home and in partnership with UWESO in Masulita, Koblin Center in Napak, Agape World Ministries, Theresa Children’s Home, and Hope for Justice. 58 children (13 boys and 45 girls) were referred to other partners for support while 100 girls were reintegrated back with their families immediately.
● 548 children (405 girls and 143 boys) successfully reintegrated with their families.
● 692 children/ youth (322 Male and 370 Female) were supported to access education on our ongoing program in a bid to reduce or prevent child trafficking and out migration especially in the Karamoja region as well as reduce the risk of school dropout.
● 185 youth (13 Male and 172 Female) who were intercepted/ rescued and reintegrated were supported to access education through skilling at Koblin youths’ skilling training centre, St. Daniel Comboni Vocational Training Centre, Biira Vocational Training Institute, Buganda Royal University, CCP Mbale Training Institute and Apprenticeship training.
● 38 Child Rights Clubs were engaged in the year 2022, 35 in Napak District and 3 in Kampala District reaching 2,622 children/ youth (1272 boys & 1350 girls). 8 of these were community clubs that targeted out of school children to keep them engaged with prevention messages as well as encourage them to return to school. The children participated in various child-led advocacy activities to create awareness on the effects of child trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in their communities. They were also empowered to report all forms of violence to the local authorities or to use the toll-free number of 116.
● In our prevention strategies, 4 bylaws were developed and launched in Napak District and massive community awareness campaigns were implemented to prevent child trafficking and unsafe migration of children from Napak District.
This success was a result from Dwelling Places Staff with support from our partners, through collaboration with other like-minded civil society organizations, government ministries and local governments especially Kampala Capital City Authority and Napak District local government, we were able to reach more children than planned.