Policy The village association

vzw The village is the Flemish association that supports the PROUD-project in Kabale. Recently, the first generation of volunteers has said goodbye to The village. We sincerely thank them for their contribution. In the field of investment in the project in Uganda, we have achieved remarkable

results in recent years.

Our association will set new accents for the future. We will integrate the operations in Flanders and Uganda more. There will be one integrated work plan vzw The village-PROUD UG CBO-WORK UG CBO. And there will be mutual participation.

We are going to explicitly distance ourselves from the charitable approach. There is as much talent and potential in Africa as there is in Europe. However, relations between the continents have been completely distorted for a long time and the members of the association must be aware of this.

Finally, we value children and young people with intellectual disabilities as other children. We want to give them full opportunities to develop and do not see them as minus variants of children without disabilities.

https//changemakers.11.be

Changemakers : Kiki, het gezicht van PROUD UG

Ga naar de volgende link:

https://changemakers.11.be/changemaker/72/KiconcoMercy 

Changemaker Kiki van PROUD UG met 3 leerlingen

In lage inkomenslanden, zelfs in vrij open landen als Oeganda, is de sociale situatie van kinderen met een beperking niet benijdenswaardig. Kinderen met een verstandelijke beperking worden vaak thuis gehouden en scholen vinden het maar niks hun tijd met deze kinderen te verliezen. Andere kinderen worden ‘ter bewaring’ naar afgelegen plaatsen gebracht...

Je moet tegen de stroom oproeien als je aan deze kinderen een toekomst wil bieden. En soms rare dingen horen -niet plezant. Maar het PROUD project wil tonen dat ook kinderen en jongeren met een verstandelijke beperking kunnen leren, werken en goede buren zijn. Door hen in plaats van geen zorg (verwaarlozing) of nutteloze ‘black bord’ activiteiten een liefdevolle omgeving en een functioneel curriculum aan te bieden.

Kiki maakte aan de Universiteit van Kabale een verhandeling over hoe zo’n curriculum er uit moet zien. Ze onderscheidde vier grote velden:

1- training in zelfredzaamheid met accenten op hygiëne (b.v. menstruatie zorg) en voorkomen;

2- deelname aan het familiale leven met een accent op huishoudelijke vaardigheden (b.v. leren klaarmaken van traditionele Oegandese gerechten);

3- deelname aan het gemeenschapsleven met accenten op communicatieve (b.v. aankopen doen op de markt) en sociale vaardigheden;

4- deelname aan het economisch leven met bijzondere aandacht voor productieve -b.v. tuinieren- en commerciële -b.v. home stay- activiteiten.

Het programma draait om functionele vaardigheden d.w.z. vaardigheden die de jongeren nu of in hun toekomstig leven nodig zullen hebben. Het programma is met andere woorden levensecht en contextgevoelig. Het krijgt een typisch Oegandese invulling.

Tegelijkertijd vindt Kiki dat partiële participatie in volwaardige economische activiteiten en omgevingen een betere strategie is om adolescenten met een verstandelijke beperking tot hun recht te laten komen dan hen in afzondering typische bezigheden voor gehandicapten te laten doen. Wil u bijvoorbeeld onthaald worden door jongeren met een verstandelijke beperking in Kiki’s homestay, dan bent u er zeker welkom!

Geschreven door Pele

MISSION 13 Main objective: to make the project sustainable

Mission 13 is aimed at making the project more sustainable. In recent years the project has been expanded at a rapid pace with great external support, but sustainability requires managing capacity within the project and a budget that can be maintained over the long term.

Unit 1 of PROUD Village

In the project we work with a management scheme, annual work plans and plans for specific projects. In the working with the children, the activity schedules and the individual action plans are key instruments. We also pay a lot of attention to operational planning, in particular to the development and implementation of the curriculum. We are therefore adepts of the management and planning approach.

Financially we have set the operating budget - staff and current expenses - at 2 million Ush (500 Euro) per month for ten students. Project management must work out a balanced budget and eventually decide on saving measures. Investments, e.g. building projects, are treated separately, as specific projects with their own budget. Nevertheless the project will still remain dependent on external support. This will be the case as long as Ugandan state doesn’t provide the necessary subvention.

A part of the vegetable garden of WORK UG

Progressively, the project must generate its own income. This direction must be visible in the planning. We plan for a vegetable garden, breeding chickens and rabbits, baking ourselves, making jams, set up childcare, a home stay and a canteen with meeting, workshop and party facilities and a flower shop.

Preparatory steps have already been taken for most of the aforementioned activities. The home stay will aim at welcoming tourists. We can already make 2 double rooms with sanitary facilities available to visitors!

Translation to Dutch:

MISSIE 13 Hoofddoel: het project duurzaam maken

Missie 13 is gericht op het bestendigen van het project. De voorbije jaren is het project met veel steun van buitenaf aan een hoog tempo uitgebouwd, maar duurzaamheid vereist ‘managing capacity’ in de schoot van het project en een budget dat kan worden aangehouden over de lange termijn.

In het project werken we met een managementschema, jaarlijkse werkplannen en plannen voor specifieke projecten. In de werking met de kinderen zijn de activiteitenroosters en de individuele handelingsplannen sleutel-instrumenten. We besteden ook veel aandacht aan operationele planning, in het bijzonder aan het uitwerken en in praktijk brengen van het curriculum. We zijn dus adepten van de managements- en plannings-benadering.

Financieel hebben we het werkingsbudget -personeel en lopende uitgaven- vastgelegd op 2 miljoen Ush (500 Euro) per maand voor tien leerlingen. Het project-management moet een sluitende begroting uitwerken en waar nodig besparingsmaatregelen uitwerken. Investeringen worden apart behandeld, als specifieke projecten met een eigen budget. Het project is dan nog altijd afhankelijk van hulp van buitenaf. Dat zal zo blijven zolang de Oegandese staat geen subsidie voorziet.

Progressief moet het project voor eigen inkomsten zorgen, maar op dit ogenblik is dat nog te vroeg. Deze richting moet wel in de planning te zien zijn. We denken dan aan de eigen tuin, het kweken van kippen en konijnen, zelf bakken, confituur maken, kinderopvang, home stay, kantine, vergader-, workshop- en partyfaciliteiten en een bloemenshop.

Voor de meeste van de voornoemde activiteiten zijn al voorbereidende stappen gezet. De homestay zal vooral gericht zijn naar toeristen. We kunnen nu al 2 tweepersoonskamers met sanitair ter beschikking stellen van bezoekers!

Year theme cooking: Sarah preparing ground nuts

Sarah cooking

Sarah is a student of group 3 at Proud Uganda. She feels happy when she finds herself in the kitchen cooking. When it’s her time on the timetable to be in the kitchen to prepare food she is all the time smiling. She says am the “boss”. She enjoys preparing groundnuts and rice.

International Women's Day 2019

Mary, Immaculate, Apophia, Josephine, Annet and Mercy

International Women’s Day is the day for women that comes on 8th February every year. The women from PROUD Uganda were happy enjoying from New London Image Hotel. They were: Kiconco Mercy, Twesigyemukama Josephine, Wednesday Immaculate, Asiimwe Apophia, Tumusiime Annet and Tindibasa Mary.

They felt happy to be called women because it’s a special day for them. Every woman gave thanks to the director for giving them an opportunity to go out for pleasure while enjoying their day so called International Women’s Day. Wednesday Immaculate said that “All days are for men but I’m happy this day is also mine.”

My first day at PROUD Uganda by Tumusiime Annet

It was Monday 14/01/2019 when I arrived at Proud Uganda. I came early in the morning, I found a lady sitting in group one class. We greeted each other and she welcomed me well. I introduced myself to her and she answered me that she is called Asiimwe Apophia.

I asked her about the activities which are carried out in the project, she explained everything to me and later she took me around the project. She showed me group one class and group two which has a shop inside, she showed me bathrooms, toilets and changing room and they were so nice with uniform tiles.

She explained to me about the big building that it was to be used as a restaurant. We went to the kitchen and it was so smart with sinks, tiles from top to bottom. She told me that small buildings which were unfinished were to be used as bakery and home stay.

She took me to the garden and told me that Immaculate is responsible for the gardens. I found sugarcane, vegetables for example sukumawick and cabbages.

Later other skills trainers came and the children also. I introduced myself to them and they also introduced themselves to me. The assistant manager who is called Madam Twesigyemukama Josephine showed me the children I will be teaching. The staff was so cooperative.

What surprised me were the lessons which are done at Proud Uganda and I had never seen them for example cognitive games, watering, serving food by children from group 2, setting tables and gardening.

My first day at Proud Uganda was so interesting and it ended well, I went home at 5:00 pm.

I remain Tumusiime Annet.

Curriculum development

Since 2016 we are developing a curriculum for children and youngsters with intellectual disabilities. We got financial help from The Province of East Flanders (Belgium).

In 2016 we studied on how to make a curriculum.

A curriculum for children and youngsters with intellectual disabilities needs to be functional for the actual and future situation of the children. So: focus is not on academics, but on life skills!

In 2017 we wrote down the core curriculum.

The curriculum for CwID is divided in 4 parts:

1. Self care;

2. Participation in family life;

3. Participation in community life;

4. Economic participation.


Some examples of each section:

-self care: toilet training; menstrual hygiene; eating habits; dress and appearance…

-participation in family life: respecting parents; cooking; cleaning; sexual education…

-participation in community life: expressing yourself; use of mobile phone; shopping; church attendance…

-economic participation: gardening; animal keeping; baking; flower shop…

In total more then 60 subjects!


For more details look in the brochure ‘Curriculum issues’ from WORK UG Training centre.

Mission 12: in service training PROUD UG staff

Team PROUD UG: Apophia, Josephine, Mercy, Immaculate, Annet

We have been much more explicit than before with the training of staff. In the month of May there was training every day from 4 to 5 p.m.

We organized trainings on "curriculum issues", "toilet training", "personal hygiene" including "menstrual hygiene" and "dress and appearance".

Each topic took approximately one week (five times one hour). For each topic, we also looked at the practice in the project and improvements we can make.