Make an impact today

Children in Uganda speak their local language at home. There are over 70 languages in the country, but school is held in English. It is the unifying language of the country. Preschool children need books in English to begin acquiring a vocabulary that will help them understand instruction in Primary School.

Children in Primary School often experience their first encounter with the English language in school. They are often in large groups, sometimes up to 100 students in a class. Students must take exams to move onto the next level. The textbooks we send are exactly what the students need to be successful in school.

Only about 25% of students make it into Secondary School. Those lucky few must take similar classes to American students: Chemistry, Mathematics, History, English, Geography, etc…They also must take exams to move up each year. without the proper textbooks, these students simply can’t compete with students in the larger cities.

Many children will not be able to attend University. For these students, having the opportunity to attend a trade or vocational school can make all the difference. We love to support these schools because trades help to make a community stronger and help to give a teenager the opportunity to help support their family with food. Solar energy, beauty salons, automotive repair and computer tech fields are examples of some of these fields of study.

In Uganda, 55% of children under 5 and 38% of children aged 6 to 17 live in poverty. 24% of children under 5 and 18% of children aged 6 to 17 live in extreme poverty. Poverty is defined as experiencing two or more deprivations in food, nutrition, health, education, water, shelter, and information. 

Most villages have no libraries. Books are indeed very rare. Those of us who have been blessed with the ability to read and learn from books should care about communities that are desperate for such knowledge. Ugandans should be able to understand how to follow directions for medicines or pesticides. They should be able to research candidates they vote for. We have an opportunity to make an impact that will have lasting consequences for this nation.