The daily struggle to feed children, clothe them, pay for their schooling and necessary medical treatment can be overwhelming for those affected by AIDS. When you live in a leaking, overcrowded mud hut as well, hopelessness can lead to giving up. We met families on the edge of despair. What a difference a simple, well constructed home can make, a life or death difference for some families in Uganda.

OKM is excited to announce a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to build new homes for needy families beginning in 2008. Each family must own a small amount of land and they will contribute to the construction by supplying labour and some materials. They will also repay a small monthly amount over the next five years. These repayments will go into a fund to help more orphans and widows.  At least 8 widows we work with will not qualify for a home, because they do not own any land. They also struggle to see how they can make enough bricks. We would like to help them by raising money for plots of land to build a house and have a vegetable garden. The estimate is £1,000 per family for the land. Some of these women are HIV positive and adequate accommodation, nutrition and Anti-Retroviral (AVR’s) can help them live and care for their children.

If you would like to help with fundraising by holding an OKM Supper Party with friends or in some other way, please let us know. Our first priority is to sustain our commitment to enable the nearly 150 children in OKM families to be educated and cared for.