The Educating Programme
Our 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.
Educating Projects
To provide children in Kampala's slums with free education we run two vital projects:
1
Encouraging Education Project
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.
33% of children in Uganda do not complete primary school leaving them without a basic level of proficiency in literacy and numeracy, excluding them from the majority of jobs, and putting them at risk of abuse. Our Encouraging Educating 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.
The impact on the children has been profound, in 2022, 97% of students achieved a pass in their numeracy assessments, and 88% received a pass in their literacy assessments, compared to 0% for both in the baseline study when children enrolled onto the project. While the project has been running we have provided a free education to over 1,000 children.
2
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.
Find out how you can sponsor a child at school:
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.
Our Impact
Over the last 14 years we have made free education available to over 1,000 children. In 2023 alone we have provided free, daily education and a nutritious meal to 116 children and we currently have 168 children enrolled on the Child Sponsorship Project.
Maxwell's Story
Maxwell;* an education journey we’re extremely proud to be part of. After completing his Primary Leaving exams in 2016 Maxwell was enrolled onto the Child Sponsorship Project, after his mother could not afford his secondary school fees. He has faced many challenges throughout his education including a broken toe, malaria and the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless he has scored excellent exam results at each stage. With the assistance of the Child Sponsorship Project Maxwell has not only passed his O levels he has also completed the first year of college studying Computer Science. Having received such excellent results in his first year Maxwell* has been awarded a full scholarship for his final year at college. Maxwell* aims to use the skills he learns at college to pursue a career in computer programming. Thanks to the generous and kind support from the Child Sponsorship Project at Kids Club Kampala Maxwell’s* life has been transformed.
You can help us provide education to more young children like Maxwell.
What next?
At Kids Club Kampala we’re committed to ensuring that our projects create empowering and sustainable transformations in the lives of those we support.
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 was designed to measure our impact against three specific OECD DAC Network on Development Evaluation (DAC) criteria: impact, coherence, and sustainability. We were particularly interested in gaining insights into the strengths and weaknesses of our project areas and individual initiatives. The aim for us is to learn where we could refine and enhance our strategies for the long-term betterment of the communities we support.
What did we find out about our Educating programme?
The evaluation highlighted the vital, holistic support the Educating Programme provided to both children and families. The programme has a direct link with our Feeding programme; providing free meals has increased school attendance. Parents of graduates from our Educating 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,
The Kids Club Kampala Way
Why we’re different
Our Educating Programme is part of the way we are uniquely supporting children in Kampala slums survive and thrive.
At Kids Club Kampala, we believe that every child is unique, special and deserves to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Our work is based on a holistic approach, where we focus on meeting the immediate needs of children and families in the slums while empowering them to bring about long-term, sustainable changes in their lives. Our approach encompasses four core project areas: feeding, protecting, educating, and skilling.
These four areas are not siloed; they work together holistically to create a supportive environment for vulnerable children and their families. We firmly believe in a holistic approach, ensuring that children and families have their basic needs met (food, safety) so they can fully engage with and benefit from education and skills development. This approach helps them move from merely surviving to truly thriving, as stated in our theory of change.
