What is the Problem?

Arise and Shine Uganda operates in Kagumba Sub County, one of the hard to reach areas in the District, and has its headquarters 46 miles away from the Kamuli town/District headquarters. Recent statistics indicate that Kagumba Sub County alone has 41,300 total number of people, of which approximately 4,200 are children found in the Kibuye Parish where Arise and Shine Uganda majorly operates from. Kibuye Parish is a hard to reach area found at the peripheries of River Nile. This implies that Kibuye is a fisher folk area which attracts a higher number of people dealing in the fishing business. There are only 2 primary schools in the area and just one secondary school. One of the above mentioned 2 primary schools is the Arise and Shine Primary school while the only secondary school was also established by Arise and Shine Uganda.

This indicates a big gap in the access to education in the area and therefore accruing to the higher numbers of children dropping out of school, higher numbers of teenage pregnancies, children relinquishing on the streets and those in “orphanages”/children homes.

 Arise and Shine Primary School:

Having realised the educational gaps and challenges in the Kibuye area, we established a Primary school in the year 2014 as a remedy for the increasing number of children that did not have access and opportunity to go to school at all. Currently the school has an overwhelming number of 643 children and we apparently closed entry for new children because we are shot of facilities and requirements to accommodate a bigger number.  The school runs from primary one to primary seven with also a section of the preschool toddlers.

According to the Kagumba Sub county head, our school has greatly complimented and helped to fix some of the educational gaps in the area and he appealed to us to create more space for other children in the area who are yarning to at least get primary education.

Since inception we have had over 900 children seat Primary leaving examinations in our school however, 55% of these do not continue for secondary or vocational skills training due to the limited number of secondary schools in the area, the poor community mindset and the fear to walk long distances to access a secondary school. 

Arise and Shine Secondary School:  

The Arise and Shine Secondary school was established in the year 2021 after realizing that we graduate many children from our Primary school but very few of them continue to secondary school. The rest just drop out and get married at young age, join the fishing business or join the sugar cane vending business. Due to such contingencies and more, the Kagumba Sub County and particularly Kibuye Parish registers a high number of teenage pregnancies and young fathers.

As such we established the secondary school in the Kibuye area in order to cub down those eventualities and contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goal of Quality Education.

The secondary school currently has 105 students, a number that is low as compared to the rate of children that opt for dropping out of school. Our simple survey over the low turn up of students even when the secondary school is now available indicates that there is a solid mindset among the communities that believes that, once a child completes primary level education, continuing with higher education is more of a luxury and therefore not a fundamental requirement for a child. As such children that should have joined the secondary school opt for relinquishing into getting married at younger age, joining the fishing business or join the sugar cane vending business and others do petty informal jobs.

The Arise and Shine team together with the District and Sub county authorities are now keen to take stronger foundational steps into addressing the mindset issue through continuously relaying information and messages to the community for them to strongly consider changing their mind set especially towards acquisition of secondary school education.   

Premised these efforts, we envisage that the numbers of children seeking to join secondary school will be overwhelmingly big by the year 2026.

Educational Sponsorship:

At Arise and Shine Uganda we believe in acquiring quality education as a key aspect for creating sustainable opportunities for children to have access to quality life and this highly reduces the vulnerability levels in different communities. This is one of the fore factors that can sustainably redeem the disadvantaged remote areas of Kagumba and particularly the hard to reach Kibuye area.   

We have taken it upon us to solicit for resources for supporting the disadvantaged children whose parents/families cannot afford to take them to school. We work with partners in and outside Uganda to solicit funds and materials for ensuring that such vulnerable children have access to quality education.

Through our education sponsorship program we have so far managed to sponsor over 300 children since 2014 and we have pushed 03 of them through to Universities and vocational skills training institutes. The need for more sponsorship is however still high as the Kagumba area has many vulnerable families do not earn even $1 in a day. Such families/children are not only supported with child education sponsorship but also boosting their livelihoods through our family strengthening program.

You can also become a sponsor and rebuild the hope of that child who had totally lost the hope of getting education.