Ubumi Transit Home

Shelter -The three bed-roomed Ubumi Transit Home provides alternative care for children who face desperate living situations as identified by the Social Welfare Department and other community stakeholders. The Transit Home strives to imitate a family environment through minimal enrollment (not more than 15 children) and a permanent live-in care taker.
Care - Staff at the center focus not only on the child’s physical well-being, but the emotional and social needs to build the child’s resilience. Counseling remains an essential component. In this way, many of the former street children gain life skills necessary within a family and the community at large. Children are able to attend school, where they learn basic English, reading, writing and math skills; essential health and hygiene lessons; and perhaps most importantly, the value of education. The playroom and general surrounding provides an ideal environment for play and relaxation as part of the children’s daily routine vital for their development.
Re-integration - While the children are at the center, the Ubumi staff also attempt to contact extended family members to find a stable and loving permanent home for the child. Once a home is found, the child is placed back into the larger society, but maintains contact with the Transit Home through regular visits from a social worker. In this way, Ubumi strives to care not only for the victims of HIV/AIDS, but to empower communities to care for their own children and assist in ending the cycle of poverty and destitution.
Nutrition This is a supplementary feeding programme that seeks to address health and nutrition needs of the undernourished infants and contribute to the reduction of child mortality. In an attempt to provide for a few of the sick infants in Musonda compound, the Ubumi community support project identifies 30 chronically ill infants within the community and provides food and medical referrals for the infants, and training in health and hygiene for their caregivers. Twice a week the caregivers gather for a forum covering a range of health related issues, such as nutritional cooking in the home, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and infant care. As the children recover, they are weaned from the program with new cases admitted. .

Education
Ubumi Community Support, housed in the Gerald Evans Memorial buildings, caters to the population of Musonda Compound, an impoverished district in the eastern region of Kitwe near the Kafue River.
The community consists of nearly 7,000, including 400 orphans and other children in desperate situations. A large portion of the population is unemployed; alcoholism and prostitution are rampant. There is currently no running water or access to city power lines. Despite such difficulties, Ubumi has managed to establish a thriving community school, where children receive free education.
Ubumi Community School currently provides 150 needy children with free education and education materials, recreation, and HIV/AIDS education. Children identified as gifted or particularly dedicated in their studies are also supported with school fees, uniforms and shoes so that they might attend the neighboring private primary or secondary schools. The Gerald Evans Memorial school is wholly run by the people of Musonda local community with a representation of the head teacher and 3 teachers. Over the past three years, Ubumi Project has also extended its support to children in Higher education. In 2005, 89 students at High School and 2 students in college were assisted respectively.

Community and Family empowerment with a focus on Women

This is an economic empowerment program aimed at improving the living standards of women and their families at household level. Through the program, Ubumi grants 40 widows and single mothers in the Musonda community small loans of 700,000 Kwacha (about $205 USD, $1 USD=3400K) which they invest in small businesses. The women are initially trained in micro finance management and later attend weekly forums to discuss business challenges, education, and HIV/AIDS, and other problems they encounter in the community. The revolving fund allows women to pay back in 17 months to facilitate access to the same finances by other needy community members.

Networking and Collaboration

The project collaborates with other similar organizations that advocate for children’s needs:

Locally