Our Story

Child abandonment is not new in Uganda. In the olden days, it was accelerated by parents who footed long distances to the health centres and unfortunately, the parent passed on, it was very difficult and sometimes impossible to trace the relatives. So the children had to remain in the hospital.

Consequently, the Missionaries got concerned about the increasing number of abandoned chldren. These children lacked love, attention and a family to grow up with. This caused Fr. Rawlinson a Mill Hill Father in charge of the Catholic Medical Bureau to devise means of caring for these children. He traced a few friends, who were willing to subscribe to this cause, and they contributed some money to this noble mission. This money collected was given to elderly ladies who were willing to take on the children.

Later these subscribers formed a society called Catholic Child Welfare and Adoption Society in 1958. Fortunately, the economy was strong and the few coins picked meant a lot to the survival of the children. The money collected, in form of membership fees, yearly contributions, donations and money received on flag days went a long way to support the children.

In the 1960's, there was an influx of refugees among whom were children that did not have any one to take care of them. The Catholic Welfare in collaboration with the Government considered the idea of putting up Nsambya Babies Home to give proper care to babies and Nateete Family Group for the older children.

And as these children were of different denominations, the name canged from Catholic Welfare and Adoption Society to Child Welfare and Adoption Society in 1964. This society had similar homes in the Eastern part of Uganda. The economy was then good and things were fine until the 1970's when the economy deteriorated. Consequently, the coins collected were nolonger enough to support the children. This led some of the homes to be closed and the children were sent to Nsambya and Nateete family homes. But the society was to be national so when the problem of inadquate funding was taken to the house of Bishops, it was decided in their meeting that each Diocese would look after the homes within their area, Child Welfare and Adoption Society therefore, became Child Welfare and Adoption Society, Kampala Archdiocese; taking on Nsambya Baies Home (0 - 5 years) in 1964, Nateete Family Group (14 - 18 years) in 1964 and later Kankobe Children's Home (6 - 14 years) in 1989.

So, since 1989, CWAS has been the umbrella body for three babies/Children's Homesin the Archdiocese of Kampala. It is a Christian charitable Non-Government organization - Reg. No. S.5914/504 under the patronage of kampala Archdiocese; its headquarter is based at Nasmbya, makindye Division, Kampala District; a Company limited by Guarantee and not having a share capital.