Uganda has the youngest population in the world; 77% of the population are under the age of 25, and more than half are children. After years of suffering from conflict and insecurity Uganda has begun to make considerable economic progress, and the Government has worked hard to ensure that poverty rates have decreased. However, despite these improvements huge inequalities still exist, and many children are still excluded from the chance to go to a safe and secure school to learn.

Uganda is host to the largest number of refugees in Africa, with more than 1.5 million people having fled ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, South Sudan and Somalia. COVID-19 caused schools to close for 83 weeks, creating a devastating impact on children’s education and wellbeing in Uganda, with an estimated 30% of children not returning to education after the lockdown. This disproportionately affected girls and refugee learners who were overlooked by state-led learning interventions.

Lack of access to technology has excluded the majority of children across Uganda from remote learning opportunities. 1 in 5 children are still out of elementary school in Uganda and only 28% of children are able to attend high school.

As well as the learning that takes place, schools are also a safe space for children and teachers play a vital safeguarding role. For this reason, school closures have prompted a rise in gender-based violence, early child marriage, child labor and exploitation.

We began working in Uganda in March 2018, initially responding to the refugee crisis. Our programs have since expanded as we focus on supporting vulnerable children in remote and marginalized communities across Uganda to access a quality education.