Improving Lives for Children in Remand

In just three short months Sustain for Life has helped to bring about big changes at Mbale Remand Home in Uganda. We are working closely with remand home staff to implement a comprehensive programme to improve the lives and livelihood prospects for children in detention.

Some of the highlights include:

• Weekly individual and group counselling sessions for the children
• Life skills and health training including nutrition, sanitation, hygiene and human rights issues
• Indoor and outdoor recreational activities – football being the favourite
• Formation of peer groups for mentorship and counselling – using picture drawing, role play, music, dance and drama
• 100% participation by the children and staff in ongoing sustainable organic agriculture training and establishment of 30 kitchen gardens
• The first harvest of vegetables from the remand home gardens are being used to supplement the children’s daily diets
• Staff capacity training on human rights based approach to programming
• Together with the remand home social welfare officers, Sustain for Life staff have accompanied juveniles on 96% of court visits to improve juvenile access to justice. Twenty nine of the children’s cases were discharged.
• The children are eating in a healthier environment. We delivered four tables and eight benches for the remand home dining room. The children now comfortably have their meals in the dining other than in their dormitories, on their beds, as was the case before.