History

Trust for Africa’s Orphans is the working name of a U.K. registered charity (number 1069208) with the official name, the ‘UWESO U.K. Trust’. The charity is also a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales (number 3473165).

The charity began operating in 1993 and was registered as a company in 1998. Since its creation the charity has worked closely on projects with a local partner charity in Uganda, the 'Ugandan Women's Effort to Save Orphans' (or UWESO), although it has always remained a separate and distinct U.K. organisation.

UWESO in Uganda started its work in 1986 due to an initiative led by the current president's wife, Mrs Janet Museveni. She rallied women's groups throughout the country to start local income-generating projects to provide aid to children left parentless in the war-torn areas of the country following the civil war of the late 1980s. Their initial aim was to provide relief supplies of food, clothing, shelter and medical care both to orphans and to the relatives, such as a grandmothers, aunts or elder sisters, who care for them. In Uganda today, one in every six children is an orphan. This staggering statistic and rapid growth of the orphan population, compounded by the increase in HIV/AIDS infection and armed conflict in northern Uganda, has meant UWESO has continued in existence longer than originally planned and still operates today. UWESO's activities have expanded into the provision of a wide variety of relief activities in Uganda, (including education, sanitation, health care and micro-credit), and you can find further details under 'Links' on the 'Where we work in Africa' page of this website.

Using UWESO as its partner organisation to provide practical local assistance, the TAO has since 1995 focussed on the delivery of aid projects funded by European and Australian donor organisations. (Full details of each of our 15 projects to date can be found on the 'Projects' page of this website.) Typically, these projects have been aimed at the provision of basic subsistence farming aid to small rural communities but have also covered water management, vocational training and health education.

The affairs of TAO are in the hands of its Directors / Trustees many with long connections to the project areas and / or other parts of Africa. The Directors / Trustees have a variety of practical skills and experience and work voluntarily. Administrative expenses of the charity are kept to an absolute minimum; there is a small office in Hersham, Surrey, UK and operations in Africa are co-ordinated through a voluntary committee based in Kampala as well as a small but dedicated team of local staff. At the local grass-roots level in Uganda the charity works with UWESO branches in the villages and towns where our projects are being run.

With 15 successful projects already behind us, we hope to continue providing assistance to local communities in Africa with the help of our funding partners and by the collection of smaller donations. TAO has established an excellent reputation for delivering aid within budget and in accordance with agreed project requirements and we plan to continue our successful work for the foreseeable future.

The charity has been assisting orphans since 1993

In Uganda today 1 in 6 children is an orphan

About us

History