Viva Equip has been running in Uganda for two years and seeks to address the unique challenges of working with children, as well as expand the knowledge, attitudes and skills of carers.

Trainees are taught how to develop networks of care in their local communities, allowing villages and towns to join together, share information and help children who may be malnourished, orphaned or without a home.

Graduates of Viva Equip People come from across Uganda and are being dispatched after completing the eight month training programme.

The Viva Equip 2010 graduation ceremony took place last week in the capital of Uganda, Kampala.

The coordinator of Viva Equip in Uganda, Patrick Jumah, said: “Every person that works with us comes with their own skills and experiences with children, and our job is to give them the specialist skills they need to help the very unlucky children.

"We try to help people think about the environment of the child, his or her life, what trauma they have seen, and how to make sure they are always listened to and protected.

"We think it’s very important that our students take care of themselves and do not burn themselves out.”

The training programme is gaining national recognition for the way in which it is transforming the lives of neglected children at the local level.

Special guest of honour at the graduation ceremony was the Commissioner for Youth and Children’s Affairs, Mondo Kyateka.

Praising the continued work with children in the country, Kyateka said: “There is no better calling than working with and supporting children; they constitute the future.

"I want to thank Viva and the network for initiating the professionalisation of working with children in this country.”

More child care workers will be trained up in the coming months after the 2011 Equip People programme was launched by Viva across five different centres in Uganda.