Support Educating Secondary Students in Uganda

Background:

Healthcare Volunteer Uganda, through partnership with Mildmay Uganda, started off efforts in 2013 to provide OVCs with support to a minimum package of scholastic materials as a way of reducing school drop outs resulting from poor facilitation and thus promote their education attainment.

Beneficiaries:

Needy school going children (OVCs), girls and boys both in primary and secondary school.

For the May supplies beneficiaries came from the two circles of Bukuya and Kiganda sub-counties respectively. The circles are mapped according to the ART clinics in the respective sub-counties. In the bukuya circle/ART clinic 56 children while 76 children benefited from the Kiganda circle/ART clinic.

Scholastic Materials distributed:

- Exercise books: 4 books of 96 pages per child

- Pen: 6 pens per child

- Pencils: 12 pencils per child

- Geometry sets: 1 set per child

- Foot ruler: 1 foot ruler per child

Challenges:

• The number of needy children is still big compared to the number of materials HVU receive from Mildmay Uganda. We still need more funding to see that we can increase the number of beneficiaries to at least 60% of those in need.
• Lack of adequate feeding at school also still affects the performance of these poor and needy children at school. Majority of these OVCs are coming from extremely poor households without enough food to give to the children while going to school, and yet schools also do not have school feeding programs, making these children to study on empty stomachs. This affects the performance in class and as a result of poor results many drop out due to frustration.