Uganda Registration Services Bureau management and staff on Wednesday donated assorted items including foodstuffs, drinks, scholastic material and clothes to Child Restoration Outreach (CRO), a church founded organization that rehabilitates and resettles Street Children and young adults in Mbale Municipality, Eastern Uganda.
The home has resettled over 13,000 street children since 1992.
The URSB team was led by Acting Registrar General, Ms. Mercy Kainobwisho flanked by Director of Civil Registration, Mr. Vincent Katutsi, Ms. Provia Nangobi, the Head of Public Relations & Corporate Affairs, the Head Mbale Regional Office Daniel Nasasira, Steven Baryevuga, the Senior Communications & Media Relations Officer among others.
Ms Mercy Kainobwisho who was received at CRO by the Country Director, Paul Nabitiri said URSB was happy to associate with CRO by providing basic needs for these vulnerable and disadvantaged street children being looked after by this organization.
“One of URSB’s main objectives and goals is to share with the communities what we can set aside as a way of thanking them for being our partners. Last year, we were able to donate wheel chairs to the physically disabled pupils of Gulu Primary School in Northern Uganda, contributing to the mobility and well-being of those children,” Mercy said
Uganda Registration Services Bureau is a semi-autonomous government agency responsible for registration of Businesses, Marriages, Intellectual Property, handling Insolvency for ailing companies and runs the Security Interest in Movable Property Register (SIMPO).
Ms. Mercy Kainobwisho said URSB is keen to ensure that communities in which URSB operates have some of their needs solved through their Community Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.
“We always set aside a considerable budget in our operational fund to donate to Health, Education and Social Welfare programs,” she said.
The much needed food items donated by URSB included sugar, maize flour, beans, rice, cleaning detergents, sanitizer, scholastic materials, sanitary wear, clothes and cooking oil.
“We are aware of the difficulty of providing food to the big number of children we see here today given the circumstances brought upon us by the COVID-19 pandemic and the high food prices on the market. We understand that you have over 400 children here as well as a number of considerable young adults. We hope our donation will go a long way in improving your operations. Under our CSR program, we shall continue to make donations for the benefit of the communities around us,” Ms. Kainobwisho said
Mr. Paul Nabitiri, the CRO Country Director who appreciated the URSB gesture, said some of the street children had been rehabilitated and excelled to become responsible citizens and useful to society.
“We have former street children who are now Doctors, Lawyers, Policemen, Doctors and Businessmen. Contributions from organisations like what URSB is doing here today help us to further mold these children into important people,” he said.
Notable among the high profile guests in attendance at the handover of the donations included Mrs. Janet Wesonga, Uganda’s first female Mayor, the Mbale District Resident District Commissioner, Lillian Nakawesi, Mbale Municipality Mayor, Mutwalibi Mafabi Zandya as well as other Mbale District Local Government employees.