On-site management in Uganda

Tage and Dorte Budolfsen

The Budolfsens have been running the children’s village with great success since 2009. The Danish couple and their children have been living in Africa for 20 years, speak Swahili and embody what Kids of Africa is all about – living in a family, motivation, integrity and solidarity. Tage is a qualified agronomist and anthropologist, while his wife Dorte is an enthusiastic teacher who uses holistic Montessori methods.

One of the many challenges facing an aid organisation is that sometimes, it can hinder sustainable development on site. During their many years in Africa, the Budolfsens have seen many opportunities as well as the more problematic side to development aid. Their considerable experience, their personalities and their pragmatic “no-nonsense” approach have made them invaluable over the years and an enormous help for our project. Perhaps their most important contribution however has been their commitment to building up a solid on-site management team of local staff. This genuine achievement means that Kids of Africa now has a pool of employees available who can look after the day-to-day management and also new projects. The team has also learned to handle holiday and other temporary absences amongst colleagues.

The aim of our village is to contribute to the sustainable development of Ugandan society. In our view, that is the only way forward. And this is why we certainly do not want to be seen as a ‘charitable organisation’. In the long term, it is our hope that the children who are taken on here follow in our footsteps and take over the running of the village that we have created for them.

All of these efforts on the part of the Budolfsens have gone to make up the long-term foundation of Kids of Africa and guarantee that it will be run properly at all times.