Clover Foundation

WHAT WE DO
With more than 60% of Kampala's population living in the slums of the capital city, many young children are living in extreme poverty. Substandard, often unsafe living conditions, poor nutrition, minimal stimulation or enriching activities, unstable surroundings, and negative influences challenge the children's healthy development and prospects for a promising future.

It is Clover's belief that by providing young children with a safe, caring and engaging environment, especially during these critical years of development (infant-six years), they will have the best opportunity for positive social, emotional and intellectual well being.

CLOVER’S CURRENT PROGRAMMING:

• Community based provision distribution: We support young children by providing them with both the basic necessities of clothing and shoes, as well as items that bring joy and a sense of ownership such as educational books and toys and sports equipment.
• Health: We provide daily meals for children and annual doctor well visits.
• Education: In addition to creating a stimulating and engaging environment for play, we contribute to school fees, supplies, uniforms needed for a young Ugandan child to receive a public school education beyond preschool.


WHY WE DO IT
Science confirms what to many of us is intuitive that the early years of a child's development make a significant difference in his or her health and development, which in turn has an impact on the strength and stamina of society. From the Convention of the Rights of the Child to the Global Children's Initiative at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, it is apparent that successful society comes from responsible, productive adults whose roots are deep in a healthy and happy childhood.

The early years of a young child living in a developing country such as Uganda, where poverty is extreme, disease is rampant, and resources are scarce, are challenging, and as a result, young children are at risk for difficult life outcomes. In the 8 slums of Kampala Uganda, for example, survival depends on courage and determination. Life is transient, HIV/AIDS is epidemic, and children are frequently orphaned as a result. They are often taken in by extended family, which are already struggling with the basic needs of food and shelter. To survive, young girls often marry in their early teens, adding to the number of poor families with more mouths to feed, and children to shelter and educate. Young children begin work as early as they can walk to fetch clean water, or are often locked houses under the care of other children, or no care at all, when single mothers go to work. Children as young as infants are isolated, hungry and at worse die in floods or by fire from a fallen kerosene lamp.

The need to help the young children of Uganda is urgent. The Clover Foundation's mission is to respond to this dire need, to work within the communities we serve and offer the young children hope for a brighter future. We also acknowledge that for the sustainability of this positive intent, it is critical to partner with other NGOs in the respective areas so to enable the roots of a young child to grow and blossom into a an adult that will better the strength and prosperity of their community.


HOW WE WILL GROW
The vision of the Clover Foundation is to expand its work of providing a safe, caring and engaging environment for young children living in poverty from the urban slums of Kampala throughout the rural areas of Uganda, where poverty is at severe and resources are scarce.

Clover began with a Ugandan family and their friends and colleagues who, living in Kampala, and knowing of the horrors of poverty in the slums of the city, wanted to make a difference.

In growing the Clover Foundation, we seek to create real, sustainable and positive change. To achieve this, we will work to engage the communities and village that we hope to help, listen carefully, and work collaboratively, partnering both with community members and other NGOs in the respective districts.

The programs currently implemented in the Kampala District of Uganda will be expanded, using a flexible approach, to encompass:

Clover Children's Center
A child-centered environment that will provide quality childcare for Ugandan children, age infant to six years. Staffed by counselors and social work professionals, the Clover Children's Center will be a warm and engaging place designed to encourage a child's healthy development, and to offer a foundation for further learning and growth.
Clover Resource Center
A space that will offer access to computers, printers, copiers, television, and a lending library of books, CDs and DVDs.
Clover Emergency Health Center
Primarily a resource for first aid, and educational support around nutrition, diet, hygiene and sanitation that will be equipped with nurses, and the necessary equipment, as well as relevant provisions for distribution.


Special programming will include:
Clover Open Table
An annual event for the children of the Clover Children's Center, their families, and members of the village that will provide meals, a food pantry, and entertainment.
Clover Camping
A program for young children and their families to participate in a favorite pastime in Uganda that nurtures individual healthy development. Transportation, meals, entertainment, and educational programming will be integral components.


WHAT WE ARE LEARNING
At the most recent open house at the Clover Foundation site in Busenga on March 23, 2013, the Village Chairman spoke of the appreciated efforts of Clover to take on the care of needy children in the community. He addressed the strengths of Clover's work:

• skilled, competent and committed professionals
• the exceptional quality of care for the children
• the majority of the directors being mothers
• the availability of books, toys and sporting equipment
• the strong and positive reputation of Clover in the village

The Village Chair also addressed the desperate need for Clover to grow so that it could it provide care for at minimum 100 children if possible, as many families have expressed interest.

We are learning daily that the need for the work Clover is doing on the ground in Busenga, Kampala District is growing and that to break this chain of poverty and misfortune, we need to be focused on growing the organization thoughtfully and carefully, but with intention to make a significant and positive impact.


WHAT PROGRESS WE ARE MAKING

2013
For 2013, our goals organizationally are to gain both our nonprofit status in the United States, as a 501(c)(3) and our NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) designation in Uganda. Programmatically, we have not only expanded, but have structured our objectives for this year by:

• Organizing outreach to procure specific programmatic needs (educational, medical, recreational)
• Expanding and Improving the physical environment for the children's care
• Establishing the Clover Library, to provide a resource for books and technology
• Developing a workshop program specifically focused on the Protection of the Rights of Vulnerable Children
• Planning two special events during the year: Sports Day and Clover Open Table, both to provide motivation, psychological and community based support for the young children
• Initiating an endowment to fund the first year of public school education for the children, including school fees, uniforms, school bags, books and pencils.

2010-2012
The Clover Foundation began its operations informally in 2010 in response to witnessing the desperate need of the children and families living in extreme poverty in the Kampala District of Uganda. With little resources, but with a big heart, during the past three plus years, Clover was able to forward three 40' containers of toys, books, clothing, and sports equipment. The following provisions were distributed to more than 60 children, mostly at the Clover center in Kampala, but also several rural districts in surrounding the capital city.


15,000 toys
55 bicycles
10 boxes of books
30 soccer balls
12 blankets
30 bed shirts
5 boxes of school supplies
150 pairs of shoes
clothing for children and adults
3 sewing machines


Additionally, during this time, 40 young children from 35 families living in poor neighborhoods were served 312 meals, and were able to have a general well visit at Busega Medical Center, which now has an affiliation with the Clover Foundation for well visits and medical emergencies.