Uganda

48.7m

Residents of the country

41%

Are below the poverty line

77%

Are under 30 years old

6.2 years

Average number of years in school

63.4 years

Life expectancy at birth

ABC Children's Aid Uganda

The organization was previously called the Uganda Australia Foundation and was founded by a couple, Trudy and Francis Odida. Trudy is Australian and Francis is Ugandan. The couple have built up an extensive aid program that serves thousands of children. The Uganda Australia Foundation became a partner of ABC in 1993. In 2007, the name was changed to ABC Children's Aid Uganda. Today, ABC Children's Aid supports around 650 children in Uganda with the help of Icelandic supporters and has built schools in Kitetika and Rackoko in collaboration with the couple. ABC Children's Aid Uganda runs a total of 9 schools; a pre-school, a primary school, a secondary school and a vocational school.

The school system

The school year in Uganda begins in early February. Each school year is divided into three terms, and children take exams after each term: February - April, May - August, and September - November.

The schools are divided into the following:

Preschool for children aged 3 to 5. Primary school for grades 1 to 7. At the end of grade 7, children take a standardized exam. Secondary school, which is divided into S1-S4 with a final exam. S 5-S 6 is also offered, which gives the right to go to university.

Uganda is a small country in East Africa, the capital of which is Kampala. It is bordered by Sudan to the north, Zaire to the west, Rwanda and Tanzania to the south, and Kenya to the east. Uganda is rich in natural resources and is called the Pearl of Africa. Uganda lies on the equator. There are two rainy seasons throughout the year; March - May and October - November. Temperatures are relatively stable at 25-29 °C due to the country's altitude.

abc schools

The schools in Kitetika and Kasangati

Kitetika and the surrounding villages are approximately 16 km from the centre of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Most of the residents are subsistence farmers struggling to make ends meet. Most of the homes our children live in are built of mud bricks and have no running water or electricity. In Kitetika, ABC has been running a school for poor children since 1994. The ABC schools have received numerous awards for their good academic performance, despite the fact that almost all of the children come from the lowest classes of society and live in poor conditions.

Rackoko

In addition to the schools in Kitetika and Kasangati, ABC Children's Aid runs four schools in Rackoko in Northern Uganda: a preschool (3 to 5 year olds), a primary school (grades 1–7), a secondary school (grades 8 to 12) and a vocational school.

The Acholi people of northern Uganda have grown up in a state of war for the past 35 years, with a war raging between rebels calling themselves the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the government from 1986 to 2008. The conditions for the people in Rackoko are very difficult. Food and water are scarce, sanitation is primitive and housing is inadequate. Poverty and disease are widespread problems among the children, who have known little else but suffering throughout their lives.

UAF (Uganda Australia Foundation, later ABC) began relief work in this war-torn area of Rackoko in Pader District in Northern Uganda in 1993.

In addition to the schools, ABC Children's Aid runs a health clinic for the people of Rackoko, a radio station that broadcasts uplifting content as far north as Sudan and west as Congo.