Uganda

UCDVO has worked in partnership with civil society organisations in Uganda for the last decade on healthcare, livelihoods and non formal education. 

In 2025 UCDVO will run volunteer projects in Uganda with partners Nurture Africa (health), Church of Uganda Kisiizi Hospital (health), and plastic up-cycling social enterprise Eco Brixs (sustainability). UCDVO also plans to run a pilot sport in development project - more details to follow.

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2025 Planned Projects
Project 1: Rehab Centre Health Programme
Dates: 4 Weeks (7 June - 5 July 2025)
Project Overview

UCDVO and Nurture Africa will host a 4-week rehabilitation camp for children with disabilities and their families. This camp includes physiotherapy, public health, and nutrition assessments and interventions, alongside workshops and capacity building. The physiotherapy students are supervised by a clinical tutor and Nurture Africa staff.

Partner: Nurture Africa, Nansana, Wakiso District

Nurture Africa is an Irish-founded international development organisation that aims to lift vulnerable women and children out of poverty, empowering them to achieve self-sufficiency through a holistic family-centred model. Nurture Africa provides health services, educational support, child rights/advocacy, nutritional support and financial literacy training giving families living in poverty the tools and resources they need to become more self-reliant.

Since 2015, the UCDVO partnership has supported the establishment and development of Nurture Africa’s Rehabilitation Centre - over 265 children with disabilities have received physiotherapy and occupational services, resulting in improvements in movement, speech and sitting. 

Volunteers

Multi-disciplinary team of mostly physiotherapy students. Stage 3 and Masters physiotherapy students may apply to participate in the UCDVO programme as part of their elective placements.  BSc Nutrition and other general public health students would also be well suited.

 

Project 2: Sustainable Livelihoods
Dates: 4 Weeks (7 June - 5 July  2025)
Project Overview

A small group of UCDVO volunteers will work alongside the Eco Brixs team on a range of activities, including plastic collection, recycling, community outreach and education.

Partner: Eco Brixs, Masaka, Uganda

Eco Brixs is a closed-loop recycling model to help tackle the issue of plastic waste and unemployment in Uganda. Their mission is to create green sustainable jobs to lift people into the employment sector in Uganda.

Eco Brixs is a UK registered charity and a Ugandan registered NGO. Since its foundation in 2017, Eco Brixs has grown to become one of the largest recycling facilities outside the capital city of Kampala - recycling over 350 tonnes of plastic waste and creating 3000 income opportunities amongst local people. Using this plastic, they have developed a wide range of Eco-Products that have been utilised by both the construction and healthcare sectors.

UCDVO first visited Eco Brixs in 2022 to learn more about the organisation and the local context. In 2024 we ran a successful pilot sustainability project with Eco Brixs and plan to build on that for 2025.

Volunteers

This project is suitable for general volunteers from all backgrounds. May be especially suited to students with an interest in sustainability, education, marketing and engineering.
 

Project 3: Paediatric Rehab and Nutrition Project
Dates: Four weeks (7 June - 5 July 2025)
Project Overview

A combined physiotherapy paediatric disability rehab and nutrition project. The UCDVO physiotherapy students, supervised by a clinical tutor and staff from Kisiizi Hospital plan to run a 2-3 week intensive therapy programme for children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Children are treated daily with group therapy sessions. All patients are measured for aids and assistive devices if needed. Multi-disciplinary team (MDT) education sessions are delivered every afternoon. There may also be community outreach and education activities.

The second strand of this project is a Nutrition Project which will support the work of Kisiizi Hospital’s nutrition programme and will involve nutrition assessments and advice, community outreach, education workshops and possibly data collection. 

Partner: Church of Uganda, Kisiizi Hospital, Kabale District

Church of Uganda Kisiizi Hospital is a 285 bed, private, not-for-profit health care provider, in rural Rukungiri district, southwest Uganda. The hospital consists of six wards - Surgical, Maternity, Medical, Isolation, Paediatric, and Psychiatric as well as an outpatient department / A&E, a full rehabilitation department with an attached long-term patient rehabilitation ward. There are numerous other services at the hospital such as community-based outreach clinics, vaccination programmes, rehabilitation programmes, a HIV and antiretroviral treatment centre and a community health insurance project.

Since 2010, UCDVO has placed over 65 students and 12 professional tutors, the majority of whom have been from the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy & Sports Science (SPHPSS), and School of Agriculture and Food Science. Between 2016 - 2019, UCDVO students worked alongside students from Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Uganda.

In 2016, with support of ESTHER/ Irish Forum for Global Health grant funding, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy & Sports Science established a partnership with Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Uganda, to strengthen education and research in Global Health between the two schools of Physiotherapy.

Volunteers

Multi-disciplinary team of health science students. Stage 3 and Masters physiotherapy students may apply to participate in the UCDVO programme as part of their elective placements. Stage 1 MSc Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics can apply to this project as part of an elective placement and will be supervised by a CORU registered Clinical Dietician. 

 

Pilot Project 4: Sports in Development - Uganda GAA pilot
Dates: Four weeks (7 June - 5 July 2025)
Partner: The Irish Society in Uganda and UCD SPHPSS (BSc Sports and Exercise Management)

In collaboration with the Irish Society in Uganda and UCD SPHPSS (BSc Sports and Exercise Management), we plan to undertake a pilot project  for 4 weeks (June 2025). The purpose of this pilot project is to explore the value, benefit, acceptability and feasibility of a UCDVO Sports Project (GAA focused) in Uganda.

Project Overview

The proposed goal of this project is to use sport as a tool for empowerment for education, particularly for girls. A UNICEF report in 2019 stated that participation in sport improves children’s educational attainment and skills development including empowerment, leadership and self-esteem – contributing to their overall well-being and future prospects, (UNICEF, 2019). 

The objectives of the GAA sports programme, which is supported by the Irish Society in Uganda is to:

1. Provide school children, regardless of the socio-economic standing, with a quality sports programme. It is envisaged that this programme will build physical fitness and skills, but also mental and social wellbeing.  There will be a key focus on promoting the programme to girls, due to the known benefits of sports but also the knowledge of high dropout/ non-participation of girls in sport globally. 

2. To understand and address barriers to sports for girls in Uganda. 

3. To enhance cross-cultural understanding between young people in Uganda and Ireland. 

4. To use a ‘train the trainers’ approach to build sports coaching skills with school teachers in the participating schools, contributing to sustainability of sports promotion within schools.

Volunteers

A small group of six to eight volunteers who have a strong interest in international development,  and are actively engaged in sports (particularly GAA). You would be required to do mandatory foundation level GAA coaching training in advance of the project. We particularly welcome applications from Stage 3 BSc Sports and Exercise Management or Health and Performance Science; and physiotherapy students/graduates who have participated in UCDVO.