In 2014 TUgende started the project with the Ugandan NGO KYDA, Kawempe Youth Development Association, that takes care of street children in the slum of Kawempe, Kampala.
The association lacks adequate dorms to accomodate children at night and the collaboration between KYDA and TUgende was born out of this necessity.

The street children phenomenon in Kampala with its sprawling suburbs is almost unrestrainable. According to a UNICEF paper there are 6000 street children with 16 new children joining the street everyday.
They are a segment of population that includes children and teenagers between the age of 6 and 15.
As they do not have the opportunity of improving their living conditions, poverty is passed down from generation to generation creating a vicious circle difficult to eliminate.
The reasons that cause children to live in the street are several. They are victims of drug abuse, sexual exploitation, harassment and considered as outcasts by members of the community. On top of it they are considered dangerous and a burden to the society.

TUgende is a team of four young architects, graduated at Politecnico di Milano and we all had international studying experiences. We also share a renewed interest for an ethical basis of Architecture together with a rediscovery of semplicity through respect of local buildings and traditions of the different contexts.
Both out of passion and a little by chance we found ourselves together in Kampala where our adventure started. An adventure that found in architectural design a starting point to reflect on the meaning of architecture and the role of the architect planner in contexts that we like to call “Elsewhere”, places where architecture becomes necessary.