‘Kulea Watoto’ – translated as ‘nurturing children’- is an initiative to improve early childhood development and transform the livelihoods of refugees and communities that host them in Uganda. The initiative will provide nurturing care, early childhood learning opportunities, and support to target clients to build skills in generating income for their families. Kulea Watoto will use a unique two-generation integrated approach to reach children under five years of age and their caregivers in Yumbe, Kyegegwa and Kampala districts.

The projects’ main objective is to improve access to quality early childhood development for children aged five years and under and transform livelihoods opportunities for refugees and host communities in Uganda. Specifically, the project will:

• Empower households with responsive caregiving and early learning skills.
• Improve economic well-being and household income generation opportunities.
• Improve the availability of quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) services.
• Advocate for an enabling environment for quality ECD
  service provision.

To achieve this, the Kulea Watoto project offers learning sessions for parents and caregivers on responsive caregiving and the provision of early learning opportunities, improved linkages to children’s services in local communities, livelihoods training, and start-up funding for promising business ideas, among other interventions. 

Approaches:

The project employs a unique two-generation approach offering learning sessions on responsive caregiving and the provision of early learning opportunities, improved links to children’s services in local communities, livelihoods training, start-up funding for promising business ideas, and more.

In this approach, Village Health Teams (VHTs) will orient community members on health-related topics; paralegals on protection, college-based tutors will train teachers in pre-primary curricula, parish chiefs supported to oversee mobilisation and parish-development model, village savings and loans associations shall bring clients together for sharing, learning, and financial empowerment, and care groups (Mother Care Groups - MCGs &/or Father Care Groups - FCGs) will link household caregivers with the project staff and other key stakeholders.