Whether it is isolation, loneliness, food security, safety, shelter, access to healthcare, accessibility, or giving voice, Charity Hamlet Ltd assists, empowers and connects older persons in Uganda and around the world.
Older people are critical contributors to family, community, and society. They are both the largest growing and the most under served population in the world. Any donation, helps support the cost of food, water, shelter, medicine and clothing. It restores dignity and hope while giving a Grandparent the respect they deserve in this world. In Uganda, the current population of older persons is estimated at 1.6 million (5% of the population) and it is expected to increase to 5.5 million in 2050 (UBOS and ICF International 2012).
Statistical Data as per Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. (September 2020)
Demographic context
Older persons constitute 4.3 per cent of Uganda’s total population and will remain a
demographic minority in the near future. Yet, the dramatic increase in total numbers
underscores the need to ensure they receive appropriate support to actively age. More than
98 per cent of older persons live outside of Kampala and 54 per cent are women. One is six
households with an older person is a skipped generation household, i.e. with older persons
and children under 18 years of age only. Older women are more likely to live in skipped
generation households: one-fifth of all women aged between 60-79 years are in this living
arrangement. Moreover, over 77 per cent of children in skipped generation households have
both living parents, going against the widespread belief that most are orphans.
Socioeconomic context
The economic potential of older Ugandans is limited, as more than half are illiterate. The
majority are therefore reliant on subsistence agriculture which is labor-intensive but has
very low economic returns. A greater determinant of an individual’s well being is their social
capital, and the level of wealth within the extended familial and clan networks.
