Families Fit for Children (FFC) is a not-for-profit organization, promoting healthy families in which every child is safe and is prepared for a safe, resilient and responsible future. FFC is a registered Community Based Organization in Kasese District under registration number “1834” that has been implementing child protection and mental health focused interventions, in the district since 2018. It is also registered with the Registrar of companies (registration number 80010000753486). The organization has operations in the lower local governments of Mpondwe Lhubiriha town council (MLTC), Bwera and Nyakiyumbu Sub counties, with offices located in Bwera Subcounty. The project shall first be piloted in the current sub counties of operation before it can be scaled up to other areas
The target group include: Children (9-12 years), Young adults/youth, House maids, Learning institutions, Day care service centers, Parents/Guardians and Caregivers in children’s homes and rehabilitation centers for juveniles. Services are to be offered to any institution and family living or operating in Uganda.
- To promote physical and environmental health in families
- To promote mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in families
- To advocate for and promote the rights of children
- To promote and provide care and support to children
- To improve and strengthen the social economic livelihood of vulnerable families
- To engage in research, learning, innovation and documentation of best practices
The organization applies preventive approaches in dealing with family and community issues by looking out for the vulnerable households but also dealing with families and general communities that are already dysfunctional. The motivation for this approach of work is the conviction that when a family is stable, then its community becomes stable and the nation at large. Therefore preventive interventions save a country from burning resources that deal with already existing problems.
FFC intends to contribute to the implementation of the National Child Policy 2020 of Uganda. The policy promotes the wellbeing of all children given that all children have varied vulnerabilities by nature of being children. FFC contributes to the following key priority areas: Child survival and health, education and development and care and protection
Support vulnerable children that have either dropped out of school or at risk of dropping out of school. Child mothers are on an increase in Uganda especially in one our operation districts of Kasese. These need support to go back to school or getting livelihood skills and support. Nannies that are mostly young adults need to have a life. They need an opportunity to acquire skills in the hospitality industry so that value is added to their work. They ought to have families of their own as they work as nannies, not getting confined in their bosses’ homes. This can only be possible if their work has value addition and they get a minimum wage that can be enough to pay rent and other survival needs.
Our areas of operation are prone to emergencies. They experience floods, politically related instabilities and medical related emergences like cholera among others. Families are often affected and children in need of emergency aid. Contribute to this fund that facilitates immediate response and thus reducing the level of distress that children and families face during such emergencies.
Another area of emergency is response to child sexual abuse. Kasese district ranks third countrywide, in teenage pregnancies. Defilement is common and sometimes, requires emergency response to children that require psychosocial support and medical treatment