Watoto children’s homes are constructed in the form of small, vibrant communities we refer to as villages.

The village setting is representative of a familiar traditional dwelling for many ethnic groups in Africa. The houses are positioned in clusters with all the essentials of any basic home in a developed country. Each village contains a nursery school, a kindergarten, primary school, high school, vocational training centre, water project, medical clinic and a multi-purpose hall for use as a church and community centre. The villages provide safe and open outdoor spaces with beautiful vegetation and plenty of space to live and play. For a diagrammatic visual of the optimal village, please click here.
 
A Watoto family consists of a housemother who cares for 8 children (starting at 2 years old and above). Infants between the age of 0 to 2 are cared for at Baby Watoto.

In one house, there are three bedrooms, one for the mother and two for the children. The house incorporates a communal area with a dining and lounge space. The dining area is an important tool in the creation of a family environment. Watoto homes are also designed to have running water and a bathroom, which are rare in rural Africa.

In conjunction with the ministry's home church, Watoto runs a programme called Father’s Heart. Respectable men from the church regularly visit the children in their villages and provide the father figure and male role models needed to complete the family structure.

To sponsor a child, click here. For more information on how you can get involved with our villages on a larger scale, please write to us at uganda@watoto.com.