UGANDA
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.
20%
Of children complete primary school.
1.5M
People have fled to Uganda to escape conflict in neighbouring countries.
25%
Of girls become pregnant before the age of 19.
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.
Street Child and our local partners have successfully established and resourced 9 language bridging centres in Kyaka II refugee settlement. The programme uses Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) methodology, educating children based on level rather than age. This project has supported 4,461 learners, teaching foundational numeracy and literacy skills to enable them to return to formal education.
After the success of this programme, with 90% of participants successfully transitioning into education, Street Child has received new funding to scale this project to the Kampala and Palabek refugee settlements.
In Palabek refugee settlement, in partnership with Education Cannot Wait, we have supported 7,082 learners to return to education. Street Child has constructed 7 classrooms and multiple water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities as well as training 138 teachers. We have additionally provided school equipment packs and 115 assistive devices to children with disabilities to ensure as many as possible remain safe, in school and learning.
Following the long school closures, Uganda saw a significant rise in young mothers. A study conducted by the Ministry of Education showed that 97% of girls who become pregnant drop out of school.
To encourage young mothers to re-engage in learning, Street Child uses an activity-based curriculum designed to improve literacy and numeracy skills. Over the course of 6 months, young mothers attend daily group community sessions where they can bring their children. These sessions aim to develop learning skills and empower them to have the confidence to return to school.
We believe supporting local organisations and leveraging local expertise is essential to effective, efficient interventions and to enabling sustainable longer-term impact. We are currently working with 6 local partners to implement humanitarian-focused development programmes across the country.
We work through local organisations that bring about low-cost, long-lasting and meaningful change for communities or groups for whom education has been out of reach. Since we began work in Uganda in 2018, this approach has allowed us to expand our work in education, livelihoods, and child protection.
55,545
Children reached through direct enrolment or school access support.
1,228
Teachers trained.
14,039
Supported with adult education classes on parenting and gender.
could provide an emergency – affected learner in Somalia with school meals for a year. School meals are a key aspect in the retention of students in school as the one meal they receive a day at school could sadly be the only meal they have all day.
could provide a family of five living in a camp for people displaced by conflict in North-East Nigeria with a food relief package to last a month, ensuring the family do not go hungry and that the children do not return to school on an empty stomach.
could provide one household in Sierra Leone with livelihood support, including training and a start-up business grant, enabling them to financially recover from the pandemic and afford the costs of sending their children back to school.
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Could provide learning kits for a child in Nigeria. These kits provide basic stationary, textbooks, and water bottles, meaning the children can fully engage in school.
Could help train a community-based case worker to protect Rohingya refugee girls from sexual, physical and psychological abuse.
Could help us to provide basic literacy and numeracy support to a Rohingya Refugee child in Bhasan Char Island over the 30 days.
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