Uganda

UCDVO has worked in partnership with civil society organisations in Uganda for the last decade. In 2024 UCDVO will run four volunteer projects in Uganda.

In Nansana, Wakiso district, we will partner with Irish founded NGO Nurture Africa on two projects: Rehab Centre Health programme and Vocational Training Centre education programme.

For the first time in 2024, we are partnering with social enterprise Eco Brix in Masaka on a sustainability project. We are also delighted to be returning to the Church of Uganda Kisiizi Hospital, Rukungiri District in southwest Uganda to run a joint health project.

See our fundraising page for project related costs and fundraising targets for 2024. 

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2024 Planned Projects
Nurture Africa, Nansana, Wakiso District, Kampala

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-centered 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. 

Project 1: Rehab Centre Health Programme

Dates: 4 Weeks (June 2024)

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.

Volunteers:  Multi-disciplinary team of mostly health science students. Stage 3 physiotherapy students may apply to participate in the UCDVO programme as part of their elective placements.  MSc Dietetics and BSc Nutrition students would also be well suited and will also be accompanied by a clinical tutor (this is not an elective placement for nutrition/dietetics students).

Project 2: Vocational training and livelihoods

Dates: 4 Weeks (June 2024)

Project Overview: This project supports the delivery of the vocational training curriculum for over 100 Ugandan young men and women alongside Nurture Africa staff. Activities will include basic computer skills, introductory business/finance, sports, communication skills. UCDVO business students also support livelihood activities, including advising guardians participating in the Rehab programme on their small businesses and microloans.

Volunteers:  This project is suitable for general volunteers from all backgrounds, particularly education and business. Applications from people with practical skills/experience such as barista, furniture design/woodwork, and hospitality would be especially welcome.

 

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. 2024 will be the first volunteering project to run in partnership with Eco Brixs.

Project 3: Sustainable Livelihoods

Dates: 4 Weeks (June 2024)

Project Overview: 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.

Volunteers: This project is suitable for general volunteers from all backgrounds. May be of particular interest to engineering, sustainability students.

 
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 56 students and 11 professional tutors, the majority of whom have been selected from the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy & Sports Science (SPHPSS), and School of Agriculture and Food Science as part of clinical electives. 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.

Project 4: Community/paediatric Rehab programme

Dates: Four weeks (exact dates in June to be confirmed)

Project Overview: The UCDVO/Mbarara physiotherapy students, supervised by a clinical tutor and staff from Kisiizi Hospital plan to run a 2-week intensive therapy programme for children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) during their 4-week placement. 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, as well as engagement on the Kisiizi Hospital nutrition programme.

Volunteers: Multi-disciplinary team of mostly health science students. Stage 3 physiotherapy students may apply to participate in the UCDVO programme as part of their elective placements. MSc Dietetics and BSc Nutrition students would also be well suited and may be accompanied by a clinical tutor (this is not an elective placement for nutrition/dietetics students).

 
Irish Society in Uganda

In partnership with the Irish Society in Uganda we are undertaking a pilot project  for 4 weeks (June 2024) 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 5: 
Dates: Four weeks (exact dates in June to be confirmed)
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). 
 
Going forward, the objectives of the GAA sports programme, which is supported by the Irish Society, 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 up to six volunteers who have a strong interest in international development, have participated in the UCDVO Programme and are actively engaged in sports (particularly GAA). If you haven't already, you would be required to do mandatory foundation level GAA coaching training in advance of the project.
 
Applications for this project are open until Monday 18th March, 5pm - the application form is available on our How to Apply Page.