Poverty is one of the lead causes of children on the streets. Children leave their homes to come on the streets because their families are unable to meet their basic needs, like food, clothing, and education.

Families and communities are mobilized, organized, sensitized and trained to address social-economic challenges that serve as push factors propelling children to streets.

Low incomes are a contributing factor to children’s welfare and education and hence the need to empower families and communities through self-help groups, IGA support and other initiatives to enable them fight household poverty

What We Do

Supporting Income Generating Activities (IGAs)

 In trying to alleviate poverty in the households of street children, CRO supports them with seed capital to be able to undertake small businesses to increase their incomes. The beneficiary households are first trained in business skills so that they areable to manage and grow their businesses.

CRO staff conducts monitoring visits to the businesses to give technical support and ensure that entrepreneurs are spending profits wisely to expand the businesses. The families undertaking small business have improved their incomes and thereby improving on the family’s livelihoods. The families areable to afford two meals a day, pay house rent and meet other basic needs of the family..

 Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) and Self Help Groups (SHG).

In 2008, the projects started to form SHGs with the poorest of the poor communities in the slum areas. The purpose of this is to bring poor people together to unleash the potential to develop socially, economically and politically. The women meet on a weekly basis and save the little money they have.

Members decide the rules and regulations for their group amongst themselves with guidance from the professionals from CRO. The money saved every week is gathered it in a pot which is given to one or two people in the group, depending on the amount of money in the pot. The money is put into the small businesses of the receivers and paid back with approximately 10% interest rate within four weeks. In this way, the groups are sustainable and self-sufficient and the members are taught valuable business and accounting skills.

In addition to making the weekly savings, the members discuss important issues in their lives, such as the education of their children, children's rights, nutrition, personal hygiene, HIV/AIDS prevention/care and income generating activities. The women are benefiting a lot from the Self Help Groups. The mothers gain self-esteem and confidence and their financial discipline is being built through the SHGs. 

Women and Men Clubs

CRO runs several women and men clubs for the guardians and parents of street children living in the slum areas of Namatala, Masese, Barogole and Nyendo. Through participation in club activities members have gained knowledge and skills to improve their livelihood and to care for their children. In the clubs the parents learn about the following topics:

•    Primary health care education    
•    Adult Literacy    
•   Skills training
•    Discipleship
•    Income Generating Activities
•    Sharing best practices