New Project Launching in Uganda!
We’re incredibly excited to announce the launch of our newest project in the Rakai District of Uganda.
Through a unique partnership between Wellspring and the Kuwasha International Development Society, we’ll develop and pilot a culturally contextualized school improvement program aimed at reaching 7500 primary school students–especially girls–in 15 primary schools over the next two years.
This is the first time Wellspring has ever taken our work into Uganda. But we know the time is right. The worldwide pandemic has highlighted an impending global education crisis and the need for quality education in the majority world is greater than ever before.
To launch and run this program, we need to raise $200,000 in 2023. We really can’t do this without you, our faithful Wellspring supporters.
Will you consider giving a financial gift of any amount?
“Wellspring’s training empowered us to take the future of our community into our own hands.”
The Need
In the Rakai District of Uganda:
- Only 32% of students make it through grade 7
- Less than 40% of primary school graduates are considered literate
- Teacher education and support is minimal and teacher absenteeism is a significant problem
- 24% of Ugandan children report being sexually abused while at school (UNICEF)
In Uganda
- 56% of children in Uganda live in multi-dimensional poverty (2019, UNICEF)
“If a boy student is struggling the teachers work hard to help him improve,
but if a girl is struggling they are suggested to quit school”
– Respondent statement during Wellspring’s gender analysis discussion with local Rakai women
A Focus on Girls
All children need a quality education, but girls in the majority world are especially vulnerable to inequity in education. With a focus on girls, the impact of the project in the region could be dramatic. Here are just a few examples:
- Combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic
- The Rakai District is considered to be “ground zero” of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, research indicates that staying in school reduces the risk of HIV (2013, Rakai Community Cohort Study)
- Eliminate child marriage
- Limited access to quality education perpetuates child marriage (World Bank). The opportunity to provide quality education could impact the practice.
- Better maternal health
- Girls who stay in school are more likely to have their first child later, and their children are usually healthier (2021, World Bank)
- Higher earnings for girls
- Just one more year of school can increase a girl’s earnings, when she is an adult, by up to 20% (2021, UNESCO)
Will you help launch this important project?
Our Response
The potential for transformation is great. Through our partnership with Kuwasha:
- 7500 children will receive the benefit of improved quality education because:
- 30 leaders will be supported in a paradigm shift to servant leadership
- 60 teachers will receive in-depth training in teaching strategies
- 45 parents will be empowered to use Asset-Based Community Development to improve their schools
The Partnership
To launch this exciting project, we are working together with Kuwasha International Development Society, based in Uganda. Both of our organizations are passionate about values-based quality education and are invested in an approach that strengthens every aspect of the educational ecosystem–parents, teachers, school leaders, and community influencers.
We look forward to learning from each other as we share our experiences and collaborate to create an effective new program. We are convinced the best way to improve education, and therefore the lives of children in the Rakai District of Uganda, is to collaborate, not duplicate.
Will you give today?
Wellspring is registered as a charitable organization in Canada (#88633 4408 RR0001). Tax receipts are issued at year-end for donations of $20 or more.
Financial Policy: All monies receipted by The Wellspring Foundation for Education are disbursed according to the policies of the society for the general charitable intent of the organization.