“The sheer number of my grandchildren knocking at the door day after another and with my frail health I was forced to look for assistance,” said one grandmother.

The AIDS epidemic started in the mid-80's, killing so many young parents, leaving behind small children, and creating a spiral of a very fast growing population of orphans. It was sad and painful as it was a great concern among the surviving members of kin who had taken in the orphans for care. The African kinship or the extended family is the traditional social security system that provides social services and support to children and families affected by an affliction including AIDS. Ironically, most of those grandparents and other elderly relatives who were recalled to parenting once more had been expecting support in their old age from the very children whom they lost to AIDS: in a way they themselves are orphans too.

The families receiving orphans increased rapidly overnight in size shouldering the immense pressure to provide for all sorts of basic needs including food, finances, room, education, healthcare, and what have you. The members tried to seek individual help from many places. Death brings people together who work collectively and communally to solve problems arising from the loss of a kin member. It was at a social gathering in 1989 at Bwanjai village in Kagera region, Tanzania that the topic about easing the distress of the growing number of orphans in the communities was brought up. The attendees decided then to pull their resources together and help each other to take care of the children affected by AIDS. UKIMWI Orphans Assistance was born then out of the grassroots efforts to care for the AIDS orphans and the vulnerable children.

UOA-T works directly with the extended family units, the local stakeholders who care for their orphans and the community members that are concerned about the plight of the orphans. Local village volunteers identify and define the needs or challenges that face their village. Planning, decision-making and implementation are carried out by members themselves right from the grassroots level where true accounting is most reliable and the trust factor is the highest. Each village program has its volunteer elders including the chairperson, secretary, treasurers, counselors and various committees to address specific needs. Village leadership holds at least one monthly meeting and general meetings whenever required. UOA members meet at least once a week to work on UOA projects.

UOA program built upon the strength of existing kinship institutions in assisting orphans to cope with daily life, growing and developing into socially and economically well-adjusted citizens. Now, some 15 years later, UOA has facilitated more 90 Tanzanian, Uganda and Kenyan villages and their kinship groups raising more than 7,000 orphans and vulnerable children.

During 15 years of service, the Tanzanian UOA program has been replicated in Kenya and Uganda. All three programs are legally constituted NGOs registered with their respective governments. They are facilitated by the Washington, DC based UOA US 501(c)(3) which was established to identify external human, material and technological resources to supplement the efforts of the kinship groups. It supports overall management, conducts research, gathers as well as disseminates information of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Despite UOA founders’ determination to pursue self-reliance in raising their orphans and other vulnerable children, UOA recognized the limitation placed on their ability to attain this objective. Infusion of assistance from outside Africa is vital to the existence of UOA and similar programs.

Although external resources have been highly leveraged, the program has been sustainable in confirmation of UOA’s tenet: A locally initiated sustainable program of assistance run by concerned capable extended family / community leaders and householders is more meaningful, effective and sustainable.

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