Hope of Children and Women Victims of Violence (HOCW)
Founded: 2008
Location: Kampala, Uganda
Founder & Executive Director: John Bolingo Ntahira
Legal Status: Registered Non-Governmental Organization
Approach: Two-Generation (Children + Caregivers)
1. Organizational Background
Hope of Children and Women Victims of Violence (HOCW) is a Ugandan non-governmental organization founded in 2008 to support women and children affected by violence, displacement, poverty, and exclusion.
HOCW was established from lived experience of street homelessness, where women and children were surviving together without protection, dignity, or access to services. This experience shaped HOCW’s core belief: children cannot thrive unless their caregivers are safe, stable, and supported.
Today, HOCW operates as a community-based, asset-owning organization delivering integrated services to women, children, and refugee families in urban Kampala.
2. Vision
A society where children and women live free from violence, exclusion, and poverty, and where families achieve lasting stability across generations.
3. Mission
To restore safety, dignity, and opportunity for women and children affected by violence through an integrated two-generation approach that links protection, early childhood development, health, and economic resilience.
4. Core Values
Dignity first
Children and caregivers together
Safety and protection
Inclusion
Sustainability
5. Two-Generation Program Model
HOCW operates through a Two-Generation Pathway that intentionally serves children and care givers together:
Safety → Healing → Learning → Earning → Stability
This model ensures that:
Children access protection, care, health, and education
Care givers access safety, psychosocial support, skills, and income
Outcomes are measured at both child and caregiver levels
6. Programmatic Pillars
Pillar 1: Safety & Protection
Transitional shelter (1 day to 6 months)
Trauma-informed counseling and psychosocial support
Coordination with local government, police, and Ministry of Gender
Pillar 2: Inclusive Early Childhood Development (ECD)
Childcare services enabling women’s participation in livelihoods
Kindergarten and phased primary education on HOCW-owned land
Children served:
0–2 years: 28
3–5 years: 69
Child sponsorship program supporting 134 children (primary to university)
Current priority: transforming ECD into a fully inclusive model, particularly for children with disabilities.
Pillar 3: Maternal, Infant & Early Childhood Wellbeing
Integrated services including:
Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH)
Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (MNCH)
Mental Health & Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)
Adolescent-friendly SRH services
Menstrual Health & Hygiene (MHH)
Nutrition, urban farming, and food security
WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
Pillar 4: Economic Resilience & Sustainability
Tailoring, hairdressing, ICT, business, catering, soap making, charcoal briquettes, art and craft, language trainings.
Women-led savings groups transitioned into a registered SACCO.
Access to savings and small loans for micro-enterprise development
Asset-based sustainability: HOCW owns land, facilities, farms, and infrastructure
“No child heals alone. No woman rebuilds alone. Families rise together.”
Documentaries
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“Before coming to HOCW, I felt useless. The opportunities to learn new skills and the community restored my sense of purpose and empowered me to believe in a brighter future. ”
OUR GOALS
Program Goals of Hope of Children and Women Victims of Violence (HOCW)
Goal 1: Safety & Protection
Ensure that women and children affected by violence have immediate access to safe shelter, protection services, and trauma-informed support that restore physical safety, dignity, and pathways to recovery.
Goal 2: Inclusive Early Childhood Development (ECD)
Provide inclusive, quality early childhood care and education that enables all young children—particularly those with disabilities—to develop, learn, and thrive while their caregivers engage in livelihoods and recovery.
Goal 3: Maternal, Infant & Early Childhood Wellbeing
Improve the physical, mental, and reproductive health of women, children, and adolescents through integrated, accessible, and rights-based health and psychosocial services.
Goal 4: Economic Resilience & Sustainability
Strengthen the economic independence and resilience of women survivors of violence by expanding skills training, savings, access to finance, and asset-based livelihoods that support family stability and self-reliance.
Why this isn't just another Non-profit:
With over 70.8 million people currently displaced in the world, we are witnessing the largest global migration crisis since World War II. Refugees are among the world’s most vulnerable populations, suffering major human rights violations, insecurity, and the inability to meet basic needs. Of those seeking refuge, 80% flee to neighbouring countries. As of March 2020, Uganda ranks 3rd among the top 10 refugee host countries.
This is an important issue that Hope of Children and Women seeks to address by going beyond the basics to ease the transition to a new life by connecting clients to health care, education and job opportunities. HOCW was founded by those who understand the crisis most—refugees themselves. By welcoming clients into a community of refugees and Ugandans alike, the sense of isolation and despondency is eliminated, expediting the resettlement process. Because the programming is inclusive of local Ugandans, HOCW is able to mitigate tensions within the host community, integrate newcomers, and foster inter-cultural understanding. Hope of Children and Women is unique because it’s more than just a non-profit; it’s a community.
Data from UNHCR.