In Uganda, 56% of the population is under the age of 18, and well over half of children experience deprivation and stress from poverty, hunger and violence. In fact, children are the nation’s largest demographic group living in poverty, according to the Consortium for Street Children. The situation is exacerbated because Uganda also hosts one of the world’s largest refugee populations, as the nation has become a haven from conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. In cities like Kampala, thousands of street children strive to help support their families by working on the streets instead of going to school.

The Serve a Smile Foundation provides food, clothes, counseling and guidance to street children in Kampala. Some of these children were either abandoned or ran away from home due to child abuse. In addition to offering them some of the necessities of daily living, we show them that their lives have value, that they deserve to be loved and cared for, and that they can have a future beyond living on the streets.