OUR BACKGROUND

The Catholic Diocese of Bukoba is situated in the Nothwestern corner of the United Republic of Tanzania mainland. It shares the border with Uganda to the North,Rulenge Diocese and Kayanga Diocese to the West and South, and it is flanked by Lake Victoria to the East. The diocese is composed of four administrative districts of Kagera region including Bukoba rural,Bukoba urban,Muleba and Misenyi with a total area of 8,840sq KM and a population of 845,000 people of whom about 60% are Catholics.
The people in Bukoba diocese are mostly small holder peasants, each household having about an hectare or two of land on which coffee primarily robusta is grown for cash earning ;whereas bananas,maize,sweet-potatoes,cassava,beans and other legumes are grown for subsistence consumption. Agricultural technology and animal husbandry are still poor as evidence by the wide-spread use of the land hoe for filling the land and minimal application of manure and other agricultural inputs.
    KAKAU is an acronym for "KANISA KATOLIKI DHIDI YA UKIMWI" .It is an Aids Control Programme which was initiated by Fr. David Kamugisha , the Director of Lay Apostolate with the permission of his Lordship Bishop Nestory Timanywa of Bukoba Catholic Diocese by then. KAKAU aims at coordinating internal and external resources to prevent the spread of AIDS and its effects in the society.
The first cases of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania were found in Kagera region at Bukoba Regional Hospital in 1983 . Since then Kagera has been on the head of the list of affected regions . The region was severely affected by HIV and AIDS in the last decades when the HIV prevalance was above 12% . According to official surveys , the prevalance has substantially decreased to 3.5%-4% during the past 3 years.
The impact of the disease has left and continues to disrupt the social economic and traditional wellbeing of the people of the region such as the depletion of family resources due to long illness of the productive member , nursing and medical expenses, funeral expenses and reorganization of the family activities in order to cope with the situation. It is estimated that there over 200,000 orphans in the region with over 80% found in Bukoba diocese . There are also people with AIDS who can not effectively provide for themselves and their immediate dependants, such as children and the aged .
Such facts instigated the government and non-government organizations to look for possible solutions to alleviate the situation ,and among the efforts is the KAKAU programme.

OUR MISSION

"Through the love of one's neighbour-care and share ,in the light of the Gospel and the Social Teachings of the Church KAKAU strives to reflect the on the HIV/AIDS related issues and bring about action oriented critical awareness ,mobilize and coordinate internal and external resources in order to bring about lasting solutions which promote human dignity and values."

OUR MOTTO

"Charity and Service to the Neighbour"