A Plate of Hope: How Mvulana Foundation Feeds and Empowers Uganda’s Vulnerable Boys
In the bustling streets and hidden ghettos of Mukono Municipality, Uganda, many young boys grow up knowing hunger more intimately than a full meal. They scavenge for plastic bottles, sleep in sacks, or wander without a proper plate of food from one day to the next. For them, a warm meal is not everyday routine it is a rare moment of dignity and hope.
That is exactly what Mvulana Foundation Uganda delivers.
Founded in 2021 and registered in 2022, the foundation focuses on the often-overlooked boy child. Under the leadership of Executive Director Eric Yiga, the organisation works to pull vulnerable boys off the streets, reunite them with families where possible, keep them away from drugs and idleness, and guide them toward education and responsible manhood.
Feeding is one of the most immediate and powerful ways they show care. During their annual Street Children Christmas feast, boys (and often girls and other community members too) gather for a proper meal, new clothes, music, and celebration. What began as an outreach to identify boys for school sponsorship revealed a deeper crisis: many of these children enter the New Year without ever having enjoyed a decent plate of food. So the foundation opened its doors wider, sharing meals freely.
Beyond the festive gatherings, Mvulana continues to support individual boys with daily needs. Boys like Alvin Kato and Brian Waswa, once identified and returned to school, still needed help with lunch money. Simple, consistent support food, scholastic materials; mentorship helps turn survival into possibility.
The foundation’s vision is clear: transform the boy child into a responsible member of the community. Through meals, education opportunities, sports, music, counselling, and life-skills programmes, they plant seeds of healthy masculinity and hope.
In Mukono’s ghettos and beyond, every shared meal is more than food. It is a quiet declaration that these boys matter, that they are seen, and that a better future is possible—one plate, one school desk, and one act of kindness at a time.
Support for Mvulana Foundation Uganda helps turn hunger into hope for vulnerable boys across Greater Mukono.
