Mental Health, Individual Empowerment, and Capacity Building
At the heart of UPLUS lies the lived experience of its founders, who endured the pain of growing up without family care. From those scars grew a conviction that healing the mind is the first step to healing the world. This objective promotes emotional resilience, confidence, and self-worth among children, youth, women, and care leavers by restoring dignity and rebuilding lives through mental wellness, mentorship, and self-empowerment, creating a generation capable of breaking cycles of neglect and abandonment.
Our Projects
Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Program
Building mental wellness networks in families and communities to support those affected by trauma.
Youth and Adolescent Mental Health Empowerment Program
Equipping youth with emotional intelligence and leadership to reduce depression and self-harm.
Family Mental Health Strengthening Program
Empowering caregivers with parenting education and stress management to prevent neglect.
Digital Mental Health Access and Innovation Program
Delivering 24-hour counselling and wellness education via the UPLUS Health Care App.
Family Strengthening, Empowerment, and Capacity Building
UPLUS believes that child abandonment begins where communities lose their sense of shared responsibility. This objective strengthens families and communities through transformation, leadership, and resilience-building. By equipping families with skills, values, and social support, we transform vulnerable communities into safe, nurturing environments, turning isolation into unity and ensuring no child grows up forgotten because the entire community becomes a family.
Our Projects
UPLUS Family Empowerment & Livelihoods Program
Combining psychosocial support with income-generating training and entrepreneurship.
UPLUS Parenting Education and Positive Discipline Program
Providing parents with emotional intelligence and positive discipline practices to reduce neglect.
UPLUS Family Mentorship and Reunification Initiative
Supporting the safe reunification of children from institutions back into family settings.
UPLUS Community Capacity and Systems Strengthening Program
Building the capacity of local leaders to identify at-risk families and implement interventions.
Advocate for Family-Based Alternative Care and Strengthened Child Protection Systems
Having grown up in institutional care, our founders understand deeply that while institutions may provide shelter, they can never replace the love of a family. This objective champions family-based care models like adoption, foster care, and kinship care as sustainable alternatives. Through advocacy and partnerships, we aim to reform child protection systems to prioritize family unity, giving a voice to millions of children and ensuring future generations experience the warmth of a home, not the walls of an orphanage.
Our Projects
UPLUS Family-Based Alternative Care and Reunification Program
Facilitating safe reunification of children into loving families or foster homes.
UPLUS National Child Protection Systems Strengthening Initiative
Working with government to strengthen policies and train social workers on family-based care.
UPLUS Foster Care and Kinship Support Program
Recruiting, training, and supporting foster and kinship families to provide safe environments.
UPLUS Community Child Protection and Family Watch Network
Establishing local "Family Watch" structures to identify at-risk children and prevent separation.
Policy Advocacy and Influencing Global System Reform and Strategic Partnerships
Ending child abandonment requires systems that protect, policies that include, and partnerships that act. This objective focuses on influencing change at national and global levels through evidence-based advocacy and strategic alliances. We collaborate with governments and NGOs to reform care systems, strengthen legal frameworks, and mobilize resources, bringing the voices of those with lived experience to the decision-making table to drive the world toward zero child abandonment.
Our Projects
UPLUS Global Policy and Child Protection Reform Program.
Engaging governments and global agencies to reform policies that promote family-based care.
UPLUS Global Alliance for Zero Child Abandonment (GAZCA)
Uniting governments, NGOs, and the private sector around a shared vision and joint advocacy.
UPLUS Global Advocacy and Social Justice Initiative
Mobilizing care leavers and youth leaders to influence international discourse on children's rights.
UPLUS Strategic Partnership and Institutional Collaboration Program
Establishing long-term partnerships to co-design and implement family protection programs.
Our Articles & Publications
In-depth stories, research, and insights from our work.
The Power of Community-Led Development
A case study from Kyanja on empowering local leaders in waste management and youth engagement.
Abandoned Child
Many vulnerable children in Africa, displaced by conflict or poverty, demonstrate profound resilience. Their survival is often secured through the extended family or selfless community caregivers. Strengthening these local systems is vital to ensuring every child finds safety and hope.