Education & Development
Quality Education for the vulnerable children
We help ensure that Uganda’s most vulnerable children have access to education to better provide for their futures and break the cycle of poverty and realize their potential in Christ. Through our child sponsorship program, we meet educational needs through graduation in a Christ centered environment. Our sponsored children are being nurtured, encouraged, and mentored in addition to being educated. These children are the hope of the future as they grow into the men and women God created them to be, with the potential to effect real change in their families, businesses, communities, and nation.
Joining Hands for Hope and Transformation
We also collaborate with development partners that equip Ugandan individuals through a variety of programs, enabling them to advance Christ’s kingdom. We join our partners by extending their reach with shared visions of providing relief, hope, and a future for some of the most vulnerable children on earth as well as educating and empowering Ugandans to cause transformation.
Children currently supported in school or vocational studies.
Graduates from our Education support programme
Our Education Approaches
The introduction of Universal Primary Education in Uganda in 1997 has seen enrolment almost triple. However, there are worrying signs that progress is stalling. Only 20 percent of children actually complete primary school. Many drop out due to poverty and other factors. Schools are often dangerously overcrowded and lack basic resources, with teachers overwhelmed and in need of support. As a result, the quality of learning is often poor. Education is the foundation of a child’s future, yet millions of children in Uganda – especially in the poorest areas – are being left behind.
ECD is an investment for life. 90 percent of brain development takes place before a child’s fifth birthday, and children who participate in ECD get a head start in their emotional and cognitive development, and are more likely to do well in school and become productive adults. Yet only 13 percent of children in Uganda get this opportunity. We aim to ensure that deprived girls and boys aged 0-6 years have access to holistic and inclusive ECD. We prepare children to transition effectively into primary school, train caregivers and provide scholastic and teaching materials.
We implement both formal and non-formal basic education programmes, targeting children who would otherwise not access school. We aim to ensure children have a quality learning environment by training teachers and education officials; working with communities to increase parental engagement; building infrastructure such as classrooms, libraries, ICT laboratories and gender-appropriate washrooms; and providing materials such as textbooks and desks. We advocate to government and duty bearers for inclusive education and support for non-formal schools.
- Our Boost for the Youngest approach works with parents to stimulate children aged 0-3 years through singing, storytelling and playing. Based on its success locally, Boost for the Youngest has now been endorsed by Uganda’s Ministry of Education & Sports
- Ready to Learn is our play-based approach that teaches children aged 3-6 years about books, the alphabet, sounds and words, and equips them with the foundational skills they need to learn.
- Literacy Boost gets the whole community engaged in activities that promote reading as a fun part of daily life. In rural Uganda this approach has doubled literacy rates in primary schools.
- Our Safe Schools approach works with the school management, teachers, parents, children and community leaders to improve safety and end violence against children in schools.
Bewell Child Care Initiative always appreciates the generosity and involvement of other organizations and individuals, with every contribution going towards making Bewell Child Care Initiative the best it can be by working more collaboratively, inclusively and sustainably.
We explore new ways of using technology to improve the quality of education, such as coding, robotic, after school geekery on tablets and laptops which teach children basic numeracy and literacy.
Girls often drop out of school or miss classes when they reach puberty, as they lack sanitary pads and schools often do not have gender-appropriate washrooms. We teach girls how to make low-cost reusable pads from local materials and build new sanitation facilities. As a result, more girls are staying in school. We also work with partners to make schools more accessible to children with disabilities, and help teachers adapt their methods for children with learning difficulties.