Uganda orphans

This week has been about supporting young girls and giving to projects at the Global Giving site. Today's post is a project to educate young girls in Uganda who have been orphaned due to war or HIV/AIDS. This project is organized by the Platform for Labour Action, whose focus is on a grassroots effort to reach out to the affected community and working with them to meet their needs.

This project will provide education, lunch, school materials and school uniforms to orphaned girls. Counseling support, nutrition and basic health care will be offered to rehabilitate these children. This project's goal is to enable "displaced and orphaned children will be able to read and write; communicate; develop their intellect; improve socializing skills and realize their right to education. They will have potential to earn income, leave meaningful and positive lives.

This project aims to remove 200 orphans from exploitative situations and provide them with education and nutrition, as well as counseling and health care. Without this project these girls lack access to education and the social instability leads to displacement and exploitative work situations. Many young girls end up turning to forms of prostitution in order to survive, which puts them at risk to STD's and HIV/AIDS, as well as causing many of them to be child mothers.

Its truly a tough place to survive, one of the reasons is that HIV/AIDS has destroyed an entire generation. In many areas of Africa, the predominance of people are elderly or very young children being raised by grandparents or their older siblings. HIV/AIDS has impacted middle aged people the most, which is very hard on the children who do not have parents to care for them. This project will help children who have been orphaned or displaced get their education, and to survive and thrive despite the obstacles they face.

I hope that you have been inspired by these amazing projects that are working to empower young girls around the globe. Knowing that I helped people around the world often helps to make me feel more empowered about my own life. If these children can survive what they have been through, then I too have the strength to be successful. Helping others through volunteering or donating is a great way to feel empowered in your own life.

P.S. I slept badly, so if there are grammatical errors or inconsistencies please blame them on the lack of sleep. On the other hand, if today's post was brilliant, I take full credit for that! :-)