Uganda is host to the largest number of refugees in Africa, with over 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 primary school in Uganda and only 28% of children are able to attend secondary school. The high number of children without access to education has prompted a rise in gender-based violence, early child marriage, child labour and exploitation, in part due to the absence of the safeguarding role played by schools.

We began working in Uganda in March 2018, initially responding to the refugee crisis as Uganda remains the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa. Our programmes have since expanded as we focus on supporting vulnerable children in remote and marginalised communities across Uganda to access a quality education.