Uganda has the highest number of street children in Africa and third in the world. Children living on the street are vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and violence. They may also be taken advantage of by adults who offer them food, shelter or money for sexual favours – Street children face a high risk of contracting HIV through commercial sex work – The lack of access to public services such as health care and education makes it difficult for these children to function in society and become productive members of society.Education can help these children learn skills and become economically independent. This sample proposal is designed to contribute to enhancing the productivity of young children through establishing of community schools to provide basic education and skills to the poor and disadvantage children. If your concern is about the Street Children, or if you are a non government organization working towards the improvement of Street Children. Get a detailed look of this project. This will definitely help you. The overall aim of the project is to educate the children/ youth in order to equip them with life skills, competencies and attitudes to enable them harness and sustainably engage with their environment to be able to earn a living and meaningfully contribute to the development of the country. With the knowledge and skills acquired, the youth will be well positioned to provide quality level services, but more importantly; the school will enhance the capacity of the students to know the word of God.
Problem Statement
Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and South Sudan. It is in the African Great Lakes region and shares Lake Victoria with Kenya and Tanzania while also lying within the Nile basin.
Its population is approximately 45.74 million (World Bank, 2020). 8.5 million of this population resides in Kampala which is Uganda’s capital and largest city. With its population increase over the past years, Uganda is expected to double its population from 2020 to 2060 making it more densely populated than India today. The youth population from ages 0 to 14 currently stands at 21 million.
Ugandan land was ruled by the UK from 1894 to 1962 when it gained independence. Since then, it has faced many violent conflicts within the country along with a long-held military dictatorship (Kyeyune, 2021). This has caused a fluctuating state which caused a lot of problems especially for people living in poverty. Furthermore, Uganda’s economy depends mostly on agriculture. However, this makes the country susceptible to droughts, due to which poor people remain vulnerable to shocks, as seen in the increase in poverty after the 2016-2017 drought (World Bank, 2021). These combined with high child marriage, low education rates, poor working conditions and health care because heavy strains on the country and its people. These have had bearing on the children of Uganda. As a result, certain children throughout the country are unable to enjoy all of the rights proclaimed by the International Convention of Children’s Rights.
Uganda has the highest number of street children in Africa and third in the world. Children living on the street are vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and violence. They may also be taken advantage of by adults who offer them food, shelter or money for sexual favours – Street children face a high risk of contracting HIV through commercial sex work – The lack of access to public services such as health care and education makes it difficult for these children to function in society and become productive members of society.
Education can help these children learn skills and become economically independent. ABC Organization would like to contribute to enhancing the productivity of young children through establishing of community schools to provide basic education and skills to the poor and disadvantage children.
The school will address a wide range of needs and interests of both the community and children. These include: becoming literate, complementing poverty eradication efforts of the country or UN and the communities themselves by teaching the children to become financially literate and teaching them practical skills.
Proposed Project
In pursuance of its objectives, ABC organization proposes to set up a primary and secondary school in ABC District, around 20-22 km out of capital Kampala City. The overall aim of the project is to educate the children/ youth in order to equip them with life skills, competencies and attitudes to enable them harness and sustainably engage with their environment to be able to earn a living and meaningfully contribute to the development of the country. With the knowledge and skills acquired, the youth will be well positioned to provide quality level services, but more importantly; the school will enhance the capacity of the students to know the word of God. For the purpose, setting up a children’s village where the organisation can provide these children with a home, free or subsidized education and vocational skills which gives them opportunities and hope for a brighter future. Within the children village, organization proposes to set up a primary and secondary school, a farm and medical clinic. The farm will not only be used to teach vocational skills but is able to produce food that is used to help the children.
Project objectives
- Establish a community school cum residential facility for street/disadvantage children
- Spread awareness and motivate parents in target locations on importance of children’s education and skill development
- Provide free education and vocational skill to disadvantage children
- To facilitate and develop a model of child friendly education system and to create interest amongst the children towards formal education system
- Create a participatory model of community schooling through integrating the existing education/ school and support systems.
Project Beneficiaries
- The direct beneficiaries of this project will be 400-500 children for mainstreaming program. They are basically vulnerable group of deprived children more specially street children, slum children, working children, children of sex workers, children of families ‘at risk’ (like HIV/AIDS affected, refugees, migrants single parents).
- Indirectly we shall ensure participation of community children and parents, formal schools, local authority, clubs and other voluntary organization or NGOs.
Project Concept
- The Organization would like to contribute to enhancing the productivity of young people through construction of community schools to provide basic education and skills to the poor people
- The organization will provide a day and boarding pre- primary, primary and secondary school. Later on the organization will introduce vocational skills training like; agricultural production, computer literacy, tailoring, catering, art and craft, weaving and other as the market may demand.
- The proposed school will be located in ABC District. As a means of building synergy and optimizing resources, the ABC organization will work closely with other agencies that are already grounded in the development of the country.
- This document provides an assessment of the need for educational training in Uganda and the specific intervention ABC organization would like to make through establishment of a school and the approach to implementation of the school project.
- We also plan to have four other schools within Area name1, Area name2, Area 3 and Area4 where we will be able to help many children from poor rural areas and inner-city slums who would normally be denied the opportunity of an education.
Through the project, organization aims at:
- Setting up an ultra-modern and well equipped school in ABC district
- Providing quality education to the youth.
- Improving the country’s capacity to reach and effectively contribute to the creation of a well-trained human resource, essential for development.
- Promoting self-employment.
Project Rationale
- The school will address a wide range of needs and interests of both the community and children. These include: becoming literate, complementing poverty eradication efforts of the central Government, local Governments and the communities themselves by teaching the children to become financially literate and teaching them practical skills.
- The organization will help people through its poverty reduction initiatives by complementing poverty eradication efforts of the Central Government, Local Governments and the communities themselves. ABC organization’s activities are in the areas of education, helping people access and demand for health and education services, and community empowerment. The organization targets/ beneficiaries are children, youth. The organization will endeavor to achieve this through educating the children, community empowerment for social and economic development. Parents are willing to accept this project as their own project and that is why a hundred percent participation from the community members is now the asset of this project.
- With endless efforts organization is willing to succeed in making the community members understand that education is the right of every child and that is why children are not for schools rather schools are meant for their education. So if they are unable to reach to school then school will reach to them. The ABC organization assumes that more than 400 students are going to be mainstreamed within 2 years. Organization will prove its credibility in community based education. The students of school will be acting as role models for other non-school going children of the community.
Activities
- Construction of school and residential facilities
- Staff selection and training
- Basic Education course curriculum development for school
- Design Need Base Skill development program
- Talent developing programmes like singing, sports, art and crafts etc
Implementation Plan
- The school will be developed gradually phases. The proposal for school establishment is designed in a simple and economic way to provide needy children/youth within Uganda and East Africa at large a school with reasonable formal education that can enable them to become God fearing, knowledgeable, self-reliant and responsible citizens.
- The School is a starting point for the organization, it will later be develop a vocational programme for high school graduates. The establishment phase will include purchase of land and construction of the initial buildings and infrastructure will be set up. Following this, staff will be recruited as well as the pioneer students of the school.
Expected Outcome
- The ABC organization expects to mainstream more than 400 enrolled children non-school going and dropped out children of age group 3-18 in a formal school within 2 years.
- The implementing organization will endeavor to achieve this through educating children, community empowerment for social and economic development.
Organization Background
The ABC organization was founded and registered as a non-profit Community Based Organization in Uganda in YYYY. It was established with a mandate to help and support disadvantaged children, sustain livelihoods and human rights for the most vulnerable members of the community. The vulnerable children may be orphaned, neglected, school dropouts, abandoned or simply living in acute poverty and are frequently affected by the ravages of HIV/AIDS.
