AidChild’s Café & Gallery
Kayabwe (Equator), Uganda
Impact
In 2002, AidChild was chosen by USAID, the Uganda Ministry of Health, and the CDC as a model for pediatric HIV/AIDS care for the continent. Through this model, AidChild has served thousands of children, and has graduates and students in the fields of education, medicine, pharmacy, fine arts, cosmetology, and engineering. By supporting A.L.I’s businesses, travellers are having a direct and positive impact on the lives of the youth and children in their care.
Critical Need
There are approximately 130,000 children under the age of 14 living with HIV in Uganda. These HIV-positive children and youth are in need of support, medical care, and education that enables them to live long, healthy lives—and to transition from “vulnerable” to powerful. The AidChild Leadership Institute (A.L.I.) provides tutoring, leadership coaching, job-skills training, language development, music education, nutrition and wellness support to the older children or “interns” in the organization’s care. AidChild’s Human Development Centre (H.D.C.) is a creation of the organization’s senior interns at A.L.I., offering psychosocial support and innovative pedagogy in early childhood education for 30 babies and children daily.
Our Involvement
As much as 70% of the A.L.I. budget is covered by the businesses under their corporate label, including AidChild’s Café and Gallery, located where a highway crosses the equator line in Kayabwe, Uganda. Planeterra has partnered with A.L.I. and provided them with a grant to upgrade their kitchen, which once struggled to meet the needs of the busy café. A grant has also been given to provide training to the nine staff members working at the café and gallery.
Planeterra connected the café with travellers from their tourism industry partners, where they have a meal at AidChild’s Café and Gallery, supporting the charity’s sustainable business so that more funds can be channelled towards A.L.I.’s innovative new models of care.
