Where We Work

Uganda has one of the worst slum populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for over half of the people living in Kampala. People come here looking for new chances to improve their life and escape rural poverty. Many others flee from the violence and oppression in their own district or country.

Many Ugandans are a part of a worldwide wave of migration to cities, known as the urbanization of poverty. People may come to a city, such as Kampala, looking for new chances to improve their life and escape rural poverty. Many others flee from the violence and oppression in their own district or country. However, the cost of living in the city increases along with the population. In Kampala, there is a rapidly increasing demand for food, housing, social services and infrastructure - and food especially is becoming more and more expensive due to the transport costs of it being brought from rural areas. Since 2008, the cost of food for a household of six increased by about 13.9%, despite most household incomes remaining the same.

Because of these challenges, those migrating to the cities often find themselves living in informal settlements, or slums. A slum is a group of individuals living under the same roof that lacks one or more of the following conditions: access to safe water, access to sanitation, secure tenure, durability of housing, and sufficient living area. People living there are subject to high unemployment levels, lack of public services, low development and the decline of traditional social values. Crimes are common, and the areas become very dangerous after nightfall.

Uganda has one of the worst slum populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for over half of the people living in Kampala. Most of these areas are prone to flooding during the rainy seasons. This, along with the lack of public services (i.e. garbage removal, drainage systems and clean water) culminates in outbreaks of disease such as cholera, dysentery, malaria, malnutrition and tuberculosis.

As a result of the environment in which they live, residents of these communities often do not hold basic human rights, such as security, privacy, education, healthcare, and dignity.

Sources:
UN-Habitat, 2001, 2003
JPIIJPC, 2009
UN - Declaration of Human Rights