OUR STORY

BEZA STEP AND ARISE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES is a registered not for profit non-governmental organization in Sironko district in Uganda. It was founded by Akol Sarah who has a vision to offer free quality education to Orphans and vulnerable children in the district and to help their families make a livelihood through farming, to provide safe water for them and solar energy. 70% of the population in Uganda is comprised of children and youth and UNICEF estimates that there are over 2 million orphans and fostered children in Uganda. According to statistics by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) done in our community in Sironko district, we have over 8,505 orphaned and fostered children (6.5% of the total population) aged 0-17 years out of a population of 239,600 people 90.9% of whom are peasant farmers. Out of the over 8,505 orphans and fostered children, less than 1000 children have access to education, making the remaining children high risk targets for child trafficking, forced early marriages and forced child labor so it is under this background that BEZA STEP AND ARISE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES was founded. The organization started out in 2020 when Eric identified these needs in his community and took the initiative to purchase land and build temporary structures to start kick start his vision and mission and we are currently only able to care for 170 children out of this vast population of over 8,505 orphaned and fostered children