Who We Are

"The children go to school hungry if I’m not here," one volunteer explained. As the children slowly emerge from the early morning darkness, most wear ragged school uniforms; few have shoes; but none would pass up their morning breakfast, because for many, their life literally depends on it...

Namugongo Fund for Special Children (NFSC) emerged from a simple observation made by members of the community: children were going to school hungry.

And so began the NFSC breakfast program.

Led by a team of dedicated volunteers, NFSC has expanded to provide breakfast porridge to over 1000 children each day through multi-site breakfast centers, while also establishing after school programming, school sponsorship, a small clinic for children and their families, and most recently began to scale up voluntary HIV treatment and testing in their community. Many children in the program are HIV/AIDS infected; most have been affected by HIV/AIDS (e.g. through the death of a parent); and all experience the lasting effects of chronic poverty.

NFSC's vision is to create a community where every child has access to education, health services, shelter, clothing, adult supervision and a sense of belonging to a loving family. We plan to make this vision a reality by becoming a model to be replicated in other villages; supporting the community to take care of their own children, rather than sending them to orphanages; making education and health care accessible to the orphans and other vulnerable children; helping teach the children social and cultural values that will enable them become productive and accepted members of their communities; make HIV treatment available to children and caregivers; and advocate for the rights of orphans and other vulnerable children. Amy – a couple of pictures on this page