Bukoba — THE Kagera Regional Commissioner, Fabian Massawe, has urged residents to assist orphans and vulnerable children whose parents died of HIV/AIDS.

He made the appeal on Wednesday while touring a wheat and maize farm at Mbale Village in Misenyi District, owned by Uyacho Orphanage Centre.

Mr Massawe was impressed by efforts to make the orphanage self-sustaining before urging other NGOs to borrow a leaf. He directed the Misenyi District Commissioner, Issa Njiku to avail a tractor on loan basis to the centre.

The Mbale Village Chairman, Audax Alexander, informed the RC that the village leadership was ready to allocate land to the orphanage for the construction of staff houses near the farm.

The in-charge at the centre, Vaileth Philip, said they had to travel over 40km from Bukoba to Mbale Village, each day.Also, the centre lacks a warehouse for preserving harvested crops. She also said that plans were underway to start a fish project in an effort to make the orphanage more self-sustaining.

Meanwhile, over 200 orphans will be assisted by a Bukoba-based NGO, Matumaini Mapya, by paying school fees for them.

The coordinator of the organisation, Gosbert Kaserwa, said orphans to be assisted are from Misenyi and Bukoba districts.