Hope Destitute Children's Centre (HDCC) is a small indigenous Ugandan charity that is motivated to offer hope to destitute young people. HDCC's 1st project is Lukaya Polytechnic, a vocational school in Lukaya, a small town in Masaka District. It caters for destitute & needy young people by equipping them with vocational skills & functional literacy. The school has been in operation for 3 years & has 70 students. CRU supports this project primarily by acting as a conduit for funds.

Lukaya is a colourful, vibrant town but it has many severe social & economic problems, such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, inadequate medical facilities, prostitution & many orphaned children. The polytechnic was initiated when director, Aloysious Kirangwa, himself once a street child, started teaching street children basic literacy & numeracy under the shade of a tree.
The success of HDCC was recognised in 2003 when a classroom & office block were constructed. This was no ordinary building, however. The students themselves, under the supervision of instructors & as part of their vocational training, built the school as well as all the classroom furniture.
Hope is at the heart of this achievement. The young people had no opportunity to go to school and so they built their own. HDCC shows how inspired leadership & self-help can generate hope for destitiute, disadvantaged & orphaned young people.

Young people qualify for enrolment at Lukaya Polytechnic if they are simply needy, destitute, orphaned or disadvantaged and are above the age of 13, male or female. All education is completely free, no school fees are needed!
Students with no prior education are offered one year of specialised training culminating with a Trade Test Certificate. They then graduate to join primary school leavers for a 3 year study accredited with Uganda National Junior Craft Certificate.
Students simply choose a vocation; Building Construction, Carpentry and Joinery, or Tailoring and Design, and engage in both theory and practical studies. The curriculum is augmented with Physical Education, Agricultural studies, and Functional Literacy (English and Luganda) and Numeracy.

To learn more HDCC visit the website at www.hopedcc.org
or download the newsletter

Stephen Collett (son of CRU treasurer, Mike) spent 6 months in 2004 volunteering for HDCC as an administrator & PE instructor at Lukaya Polytechnic. If you would like to hear more about this exciting & inspirational success story contact Stephen on 01270 877476 or email hopedcc@yahoo.com