EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Childhood is a period of intense brain development. The capabilities that children develop during this period of growth lay the foundation for school achievement, economic self-sufficiency, responsible adult behaviour and lifelong health. As a result, the experiences in childhood have lifelong consequences. ACCCF believes that the ECD approach being taken at the learning centres designed on the three (3) components of Talk, Read and Play present a theory of change that will greatly benefit Uganda’s children in the long run as highlighted by UNESCO (2014):“Literacy is a basis for lifelong learning and plays a crucial foundational role in the creation of sustainable, prosperous and peaceful societies…Literacy is essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.

CHILD PROTECTION AND RIGHTS

In Uganda there has been an increasing and worrying trend of cases that promote violence against children. According to the Ugandan Annual Crime and Traffic/Road Safety Report 2019, Defilement still poses a big problem whereas there was a decrease in defilement cases by 11.4% from 2018, a total of 13,682 children were defiled in 2019, majority of whom being girls. 301 children got kidnapped, 46 murdered, and 9 sacrificed in 2019. All these children get deprived of their right to life and survival. Experts attribute these crimes to poverty and the inability by parents to take care of the children. Effective measures, both preventive and corrective, to protect children from all these forms of violence and mistreatment and direct support for vulnerable and poor households would be needed.

HEALTH, WATER AND SANITATION

Early childhood diarrhoea is not only deadly; it also contributes to Uganda’s high levels of stunting, which in turn affects children’s cognitive development and performance at school. In school, lack of proper sanitation facilities also leads to high absenteeism and dropouts, especially for adolescent girls.

ART, CULTURE AND SPORTS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

All cultures throughout history have produced some form of Art. The impulse to create, to realize form and order is universal and perpetual. Every work of Art or Literature has dual aspects: it is a present experience, and a record of the past. As such it is valued, preserved, and studied. Artwork affords children the pleasures, tensions, dramas, and ultimately the satisfaction to the senses of pure form.

On the other hand, Writing creates a permanent record of knowledge, so that information can accumulate from one generation to the next. Together, Arts and Literature have helped us to define our humanity .it is therefore in our deepest interest to see to it that these values are encrypted in the heart of the future generation through the art projects that we intend to implement purposely to advocate for the rights of children that appears to be at stake. We at believe that art and literature can have a profound effect on the present and future generation.

FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION

Despite the fact that about 80% of the Ugandan population is dedicated to agriculture, the country is still unable to guarantee the food security for the entire population. Malnutrition has actually increased in this decade while per capita agricultural production has decreased, the causes are known and shared by all stakeholders. While the production / inhabitant’s ratio is justified by the demographic boom that the country is experiencing, the problems related to the inefficiency of the agricultural system can be summarized in: limited technical knowledge, lack of inputs (seeds, fertilizers, irrigation systems etc.), inadequate storage systems and limited access to the market.

To these problems are added the new challenges that the world in general, and Uganda in particular, will have to face in the imminent future as a result of anthropogenic actions (climate change, demography, etc.). Agriculture in Uganda, as in the rest of the less advanced countries (LDCs), is an activity carried out by the most disunited groups of the population who work small plots of land (small holders’ farmers) and in many cases still live below the poverty line. To address this challenge ACCCF will seek to seek mindset change by engaging local farmers in modern farming both in the rural and urban areas with emphasis on technological advancement.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND CLIMATE ACTION

As Uganda grapples with the consequences of global warming and environmental change, every effort towards facilitating environmental protection in this region worthwhile. More so, whereas global and national macro-interventions are largely important, there is need to support and promote micro-interventions that encourage engagements of communities to promote environmental protection.

It is vital that households, institutions, schools and even businesses/companies be empowered to play their part in protecting the environment, by being good stewards and actively preserving our ecosystem right from their backyard or compound. The fact that the central region is a fragile ecosystem, susceptible to effects of climate change and global warming commands attention for the future of its people and Uganda as a whole. This calls for immediate attention to climate change adaptation strategies in the Region.

ACCF seeks to increase participation of women and youth in fostering social change and managing the environment as a means of increasing their self-reliance. The Organisation also aims to work with institutions, extension workers and the community folk to adopt new workable solutions to poor environmental usage.