Grandmothers step-up,
ensuring every child has a family to call their own.

Every child deserves a family. That’s why 23,037 Nyaka Grandmothers dedicate themselves to caring for 92,148 orphaned Nyaka children. This innovative, scalable, home-based model of care aids the healthy development of each child.
Regular meetings provide training and support, while our microfinance programs strengthen these households as women invest in each other and their own futures.

Effects from the HIV/AIDS crisis are still felt in Uganda today and extreme poverty continues to destabilize families and put children at risk. Early on, Nyaka recognized that educating children needed to go hand in hand with ensuring their basic needs were also met at home. Sustaining families would mean providing adequate food, shelter, and economic opportunities.

Our Grandmothers program is an innovative, scalable, home-based model of care that aids the healthy development of each orphaned and vulnerable child. To date, we’ve reached 23,037 grandmothers and the 92,148 orphans and vulnerable children they care for — many of whom are not part of their biological families.

These women step up for the sake of their communities, knowing they play a key role in strengthening the future of all families.

Our Grandmothers program contributes to the realization of these UN Sustainable Development Goals

Home-based Care

When Grandmothers join in the program, they enter into our ecosystem of support. With their own children claimed by HIV/AIDS, they have little support from their biological families. Some live without shelter, or a basic pit latrine or cooking structure. Nyaka carries out needs assessments and utilizes community-based decision making. Together, Nyaka staff and grandmother leaders prioritize who is most in need of resources — from newly-constructed houses to renovated kitchens and pit latrines.

Beyond structural improvements, we provide household items, agricultural equipment like hoes to increase food production and washbasins to improve hygiene and decrease illness.

Grandmother Groups

These regular meetings bring together over a hundred grandmothers at a time to share education, training, and support. Each group is led by three elected women, who are trained by Nyaka staff to disseminate vital skills.

The Grandmothers gather each month, sometimes walking great distances to access this valuable support network. During their meetings, they discuss micro-enterprises, savings, and micro-loans management. In some cases they receive training in nutrition and hygiene management, food security, and improved farming practice. And they receive health education, like HIV/AIDS management. Most importantly, they learn how to best support the emotional and psychological development of children in their care, many of whom have faced great trauma and neglect.

Microfinance

Our microfinance program is a natural fit for the Grandmothers, as they trust each other and are highly self-regulating. $435,000 is in circulation among 256 Grandmother Groups, with the average loan around $40. Each group decides who will receive seed capital to invest or to start a new business, pay for medical care, or address other household needs.

Repayment rates are exceptionally high, with a timely repayment rate of 97%. And many groups have also developed their own collective community funds. Whether they use interest earned to pay for essential items like mattresses, or as a retirement fund for the most elderly members, the program helps Grandmothers remain economically independent and provide for their families with dignity.

Support Grandmothers

Your gift to Nyaka helps improve the lives of vulnerable children, women, and the elderly in rural communities through education, livelihood programs, healthcare, and support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

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Grandmothers