The Social Entrepreneur Interview Series: Meet Jennifer Nantale of Nyaka

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Every day, social entrepreneurs from around the world are seizing opportunities others miss to improve broken systems, innovate and develop solutions to change society for the better. Over the past few months, I've traveled to India, Brazil, Southeast Asia, East Africa, Western Europe and the U.S. to visit 50 NGOs and social enterprises with my team at Epic Foundation.

These organizations were selected from more than 1,400 applications we received across 85 countries. They are working hard to enhance education, health, economic empowerment, rights and protection for children and youth around the world.

During my journey, I've had the fortune of meeting a number of ambitious and persistent social entrepreneurs along the way. In this story series, you will hear from some of these indomitable leaders.

Alexandre: What is a great story you can share about one of your beneficiaries?

There are so many great stories but I would like to share a story about a little boy in one of our Primary Schools who is living with HIV/AIDS. I will call him Champ (not his real name). Champ is in Primary five and loves going to school. He enjoys playing football and dreams of being a lawyer someday. Champ is an orphan and lives with his grandparents. Recently, his condition has been getting much worse but he is such a fighter. Since his condition keeps changing, his family needs additional support to provide the care he needs.

Champ is always in and out of hospital but Nyaka is doing everything possible to keep in school by paying for treatment and transportation to the hospital. He has been put on special diet and the school nurse is always visiting him at home especially during the school break to ensure that he is taking his medication and feeding well.

HIV/AIDS is a terrible disease that has claimed millions of lives in Uganda. Many children lose their parents to the disease and some children like Champ get infected at birth. There is no cure for HIV/AIDs but with treatment and care, Champ will live a longer, fuller and happier life. Nyaka AIDS Orphans projects is directly supporting over 600 children. Most of these children have lost one or both parents and are being raised by grandparents. The children are healthy and only 2% of them are living with HIV.

 

Source: The Huffington Post (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Health Care, Impact Assessment