Over the years, the KYDA has been incredibly fortunate to work a number of dedicated and hardworking volunteers, who help out at our headquarters in Kawempe, Uganda. We’ve also been able to initiate and maintain a number of projects in the community based on volunteer’s donations. We are overwhelmed by, and deeply grateful for, these acts of generosity.
Year 2009
Name: Ellen Pieters
Country: Netherlands
Duration of Stay: Six months
Project:
- Worked with KYDA’s project for children with psychological problems and mentally disabled kids.
- Performed home visits to homes where those children stayed
- Equipped a group of 20 children with physical therapy two days a week
- Participated in sports and drama activities with young people
Contribution to KYDA: sports materials, jerseys for boys, footballs, and one laptop
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Year 2010
Name: Melina Lauka
Country: Finland
Duration of Stay: Three months
Project:
- Worked with KYDA’s HIV/AIDS care and support project for OCV and other HIV positive young people 15-19 years old.
- Performed home visits hosting HIV positive children and their care givers, and grand mothers.
- Selected beneficiaries for the project
- Performed training for vocational skills and livelihoods (essential life skills) to youngsters out of school who are HIV+
- Participated in designing informational communication and educational materials
- Performed monthly HIV counseling and testing
Contribution to KYDA: Having realized that KYDA was training young HIV positives with skills but no start-up kits after graduation, she contributed the first start-up kit to a group of girls to be able to begin a saloon.
YEAR 2011
Name: Anouk Peters
Country: The Netherlands
Duration of Stay: Three months
Project:
- Worked on KYDA’s sustainable livelihoods improvement project for HIV positive children and their host families namely grand mothers.
- The famous chicken and seeds project for the homes hosting HIV positive children so that they improve their nutrition status, eradicate poverty, and get a balanced diet by eating the eggs from the chicken project. Anouk also supplied seeds for green vegetables.
- Due to Anouk’s input, the skills training project in hair-dressing for youngsters out of school, ages 15-19, now intends to also train cosmetology.
Contribution to KYDA: For the moment, 15 families hosting HIV positive children and their care givers were given chicken and seeds. However, the project is targeting 60 beneficiaries.
Anouk also donated a start-up kit to one of the young HIV positive boys for tailoring skills.
Anouk helped tremendously in organizing the second graduation ceremony for KYDA vocational skills trainees.
She is currently performing a fundraising book containing stories of young and productive people involved around KYDA to continue assisting the project.
YEAR 2012
Name: Matti Seppanen
Country: Finland
Duration of Stay: Three months
Project:
- Worked on the care and support project for Orphange and Vulnerable Children (OVC), and other HIV positive young people 15-19 years old.
- Mainly focused on livelihoods and vocational skills training
- Performed home visits
- Participated in nutritional sensitization workshops, and community meetings.
Contribution to KYDA: Gave the first support to KYDA to initiate a crafts project for the school drop-out young women, who are HIV positive, ages 15-19 years old. He aimed at making them self-reliant after obtaining the skills.
Name: Reza Rahmani
Country: Canada
Duration of Stay: Three months
Project:
- Taught English to OVC and other HIV positive young people 15-19 years old
- Helped create, and maintains the current website for KYDA
- Helped identify a market for the crafts made by OVC and young HIV positive young people
- Worked with KYDA’s HIV/AIDS care and support project for OVC children
- Performed home visits hosting HIV positive children and their care givers, and grand mothers
Contribution to KYDA: Reza supported the second phase of the crafts project for the school drop-out young women, who are HIV positive, ages 15-19 years old. Provided English learning books for the students. Supported an agriculture demonstration project at KYDA to educate the students on income generating activities to support their families.
To learn more about volunteering opportunities at KYDA, and to apply for a position please click here.