Access to Education
Our Access to Education Programme is a lifeline to so many children from Kampala’s slums who would otherwise have no opportunity to have an education.
School in Uganda is not free. It’s extremely difficult for poor families in Uganda to afford the cost of sending their children to school and as a result, many children miss out on a vital education. We believe that all children have the right to have a good education, and that education is vital to breaking the cycle of poverty.
The context
Today, around 4 out of 10 young children aged 3-5 years attend early childhood education and 8 out of 10 children aged 6 to 12 years attend primary school (UNICEF). Since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns an additional 3.5 million Ugandans fell into poverty, resulting in many more children dropping out of school.
From working in the slum communities for the past 14 years we have discovered that a lack of education is a key factor contributing to the cycle of poverty, and that children in the slums face multiple barriers to accessing education. We believe that all children have the right to have a good education. Our education projects are a lifeline to so many children from Kampala’s slums who would otherwise have no opportunity to have an education.
Encouraging education
Our encouraging education project works to provide free, daily education for out-of-school children. We ensure children who would otherwise have no access to education have the opportunity to learn by attending free education classes. The encouraging education project runs in three of Kampala’s biggest and poorest slums; Katanga, Naguru and Namuwongo, supporting and keeping children safe.
Our encouraging education project helps children access an education, keeps them safe from exploitation and helps break the cycle of poverty in their community. After the classes we also provide each child with a hot, nutritious meal tackling malnutrition, contributing to improved health and wellbeing, and increasing concentration levels.
Child sponsorship project
We also ensure that the most vulnerable children in the communities we work in are identified and given access to education and the chance to attend school.
To do this we run our child sponsorship project, which matches children with child sponsors around the world who pay their school fees, enabling a child to receive a good education and enhance their opportunities for the future.
The sponsorship covers school attendance, uniforms, learning materials and food costs to ensure there are no barriers for a family who has a child enrolled at school.
Our impact in 2024 ...
90
children attended our encouraging education project every day.
17
new children were sponsored to go to school.
90
children received hot, nutritious meals every day at school.
176
children are now sponsored through our child sponsorship project.
What next?
In 2022, to assess the effectiveness of our projects, we commissioned Vashi Impact Group (VIG) to undertake a comprehensive independent evaluation of our projects outcomes.
The evaluation highlighted the vital, holistic support the Access to Education Programme provided to both children and families. Parents of graduates from this Programme repeatedly let us know how the education and skills children learn in our programme can relieve the families of financial pressure and allow them to create financial stability.
Over the long term, the Access to Education Programme will contribute to reduced child poverty in the slums of Kampala. It will have a lasting sustainable impact on communities, as children grow up with a solid educational foundation, enabling them to gain employment in the future and support themselves and their families.
