Vision

Our vision is to break the cycle of poverty and transform lives in vulnerable communities in Uganda.

Mission

Our mission is to empower, in a sustainable way, the next generations in our Ugandan communities through education, healthcare, vocational training and rural development.

Background

CRMI Children of Hope is the UK arm of Christian Restoration Ministries (CRM) in Uganda.  CRM in Uganda is a registered charity and has many parts including the church at Bombo, Bible school, Women’s ministry, itinerant preaching as well as the work of Children of Hope. 

CRMI is the registered charity name in the UK – our charity registration number is 1125132 – and started in 2008 with a child sponsorship programme. The ‘Children of Hope’ suffix was added in 2010 to emphasise that this part of the charity was focused on child sponsorship and education.  Because of our child centred approach and desire to see holistic, sustainable transformation, the UK arm of the charity has grown over the last 15 years to include not only education, but also healthcare, vocational training, and social enterprises.

CRMI Children of Hope is based in northwest England. There are two employees of the charity, the Co-Directors, both paid part time and 9 UK Trustees plus John Bunjo, the founder of CRM, from Uganda. In addition, there are many volunteers from different backgrounds and skills who are an invaluable resource to the charity, along with over 360 sponsors and supporters.

The Ugandan context

The Development Initiatives Factsheet for Uganda (October 2020) notes ‘that Uganda remains amongst the poorest countries in the world’ and ‘that, while the proportion of people defined as ‘poor’ has fallen, the proportion of people who live above the poverty line but remain vulnerable to falling below it has increased’.

Additionally, the Situation Analysis of Children in Uganda (2019) reports that 56 per cent of children in Uganda live in ‘multi-dimensional’ poverty where they are deprived of six or more basic services and necessities of life.

The 2021 Unicef Annual Report for Uganda states that the Covid-19 pandemic drove 2 million more Ugandans into poverty. 

The 2022 Unicef report notes that ‘the continuous unchecked population growth and a vast young population that lacks economic and job opportunities further contributed to [Uganda’s] slowed development. Many young people earn their income in precarious conditions outside the formal economy and the high population growth makes poverty reduction more difficult. In 2022, the economy’s structure remained highly informal, with 73.1% of employed people in the informal economy dominated mostly by youth-run petty trade’…. ‘Children in Uganda continue to be at heightened risk of online child sexual exploitation and abuse due to low awareness and prevention efforts’. 

CRMI’s Values

CRMI Children of Hope’s mission to serve our communities in Uganda is rooted in our Christian faith. We work to bring hope to those in need whatever beliefs they hold. 

Our values are centred around the child and what they need to grow into strong, healthy citizens who can contribute to their communities. 

Throughout our work we believe in:

1. Creating strong personal relationships between our sponsors and the people we help
2. Empowering families to help themselves through education and sustainable support
3. Transforming communities through engaging the whole family
4. Being transparent and accountable in all our work
5. Treating all our people with respect
6. Being efficient with our funds to ensure the maximum reaches our beneficiaries

Objectives

We are committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and in line with them, we aim to ensure that by 2026:

1. Every family linked with the charity has the opportunity to enrol in the Hope Development Project (HDP) and is able to provide food and basic healthcare for themselves, and their immediate families.

2. Both girls and boys are given equal opportunity to benefit from high quality education.

3. All young people graduating from the sponsorship programme are equipped with the skills, knowledge and motivation to secure jobs which sustain them independently.

4. The communities we work with have access to clean water, sanitation, sustainable clean energy and health education.

www.childrenofhope.org.uk