Baby Watoto

Since I started making baby blankets and toys in 2010, I had the urge to provide them for babies in need too. However, to my opinion it can take a while to find a project that really speaks to you. In my case, it took over a year and in September 2012, through Celeste I came in touch with Baby Watoto. One of their core goals 'to rescue a child, raise a leader and rebuild a nation' immediately got my attention. I admire the way they have built their organization; efficient and small with the main focus on the village's in Uganda. No large fancy offices in the Western world. 

I contacted their Canadian department and Moses was immediately enthusiastic about my plan to partner with Baby Watoto. What does this mean for you and me? Well, two things. We are invited to donate handmade blankets and baby items, and of course financial donations are welcome too. To start, I have donated a blanket and I will donate 30% of the profit that I make with the sales of the 2012 creJJtion Christmas cards.

If you are interested in the Baby Watoto villages and would like to know more, there is a brief description by Moses from Baby Watoto Canada below here. For further information please have a look at the Baby Watoto website.

Watoto: Providing Holistic Care for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children and Women in
Africa since 1994

Watoto is a holistic care programme that was initiated as a response to the overwhelming number of orphaned children and vulnerable women in Africa, whose lives have been ravaged by war, poverty and disease – particularly HIV/AIDs.
Watoto means ‘the children’ in Swahili. Through the context of the vision of Watoto, the word has become synonymous to holistic ministry or a comprehensive care for the whole being of an individual.
One of the core goals of Watoto is to rescue a child, raise a leader and rebuild a nation.
There are many babies in Africa who have been abandoned or left vulnerable due to war, poverty, lack of education and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Almost all of them fail to  make  it  to their  5th birthday  because  their  immediate  relatives  cannot  provide much needed care and medical attention.
Baby  Watoto  was  initiated  to  provide  critical  care  to  destitute  babies  aged  0-2 years,  giving  them  the  best  possible  start  in  life.  When they are older and physically well enough, they either graduate to a Watoto children’s village or are reunited with existing relatives.  Currently, Watoto was has three baby Watoto facilities in Uganda. The  babies  come  to  Watoto  from  a  number  of  different  referral  sources  such  as hospitals,  local  authorities,  the  police,  child  protection  units or other homes and care organizations.

The story of Priscilla, David & Eve
Priscilla (2.5lbs), David (2.2lbs) and Eve (2.7lbs) arrived at Baby Watoto as preemies from  a local hospital in April 2011. Priscilla's mother was very sick and died shortly after she came to us. Both David and Eve's mothers abandoned them in hospital after they were born. All the babies are now  living at Baby Watoto Suubi and over the last 10 months, have gained almost 44lbs between the 3 of them. They are now happy and healthy living at baby Watoto Suubi.

Volunteers and teams from all over the globe have generously donated their time and  effort to provide care for the babies along with the Watoto team. We also operate small staffed offices located around the world in Australia, Canada, UK, Holland, Norway and the USA and many volunteer groups travel from there to Uganda each year.
Baby Watoto rescues abandoned babies 0-2 and cares for them as they become healthy children. Sponsorship for Baby Watoto is not for a specific child, but for all of the babies. Partner with Watoto in rescuing the orphaned children and vulnerable women of Uganda and raising them up as future leaders.


To learn more about baby Watoto visit our website at www.watoto.com.
Contact Moses Mukasa at moses@watoto.ca to get information to send any handmade products (blankets, toys, hats, socks etc) to the nearest Watoto office. All materials are welcome, from wool to cotton. Multicolored would be great to cheer the babies up, preferably no solid reds.