SOS Schools in Uganda

In Uganda, over a tenth of young people (aged 15-24) are unable to read and write.

In Uganda, there are currently three SOS Nurseries and one SOS School. These facilities provide education to children from SOS Villages and from the wider community. Staff members are well trained and the resources available to students are of a high standard.  Below you can find an overview on the SOS Children education projects.

Entebbe : SOS Schools

The SOS Nursery at Entebbe has around 90 children, with approximately 15 coming from the SOS village and the rest from the local community.

• The nursery has adopted a rich curriculum to support the development of the children. Curriculum ctivities include story-telling, library time, Jolly Phonics, numeracy, creative skills, television time and environmental studies. The children are also encouraged to practice social etiquette, such as using ‘magic’ words like sorry, excuse me, thank you and please.
• Teaching is based around various themes/topics, such as home and family, animals and plants, transport and the country. To enhance their learning, the children are then taken out on trips related to their themes. Recently, visits were made to the Wild Life Educational Centre and to the airport in Entebbe.

Gulu : SOS Schools

Opened in 2009, the SOS Nursery at Gulu now has around 40 children, with over a quarter coming from the SOS village and the rest from the local community.

• The school has a well-planned curriculum, which offers a quality program of education. Reading and writing activities include Jolly phonics, stories and plenty of reading materials such as flash cards and story cards. Swimming lessons, outdoor play and music, dance and drama help develop the children’s motor skills.
• The children’s learning is based around different themes each term, such as wild and domestic animals, transport, plants and food. Visits around these themes have included a trip to a local bus part and air strip, where the children were allowed to sit inside a plane.

Kakiri : SOS Schools

The SOS Nursery at Kakiri has over 90 children, with around 10 from the SOS village and the remainder coming from the local community.

• The nursery is a beehive of activity all year round, with tasks and activities particularly focused on ensuring all the children can read and write. Parents are encouraged to become involved in their children’s learning and three parent-teacher meetings are held each year.
• As well as the annual sports day and graduation for year 3 children, special events and celebrations take place throughout the year. Recently the nursery held a fashion show, where the youngest children made costumes from raffia, year 2 children from drinking straws and year 3 children wore designs made from paper.

The SOS Primary & Secondary School at Kakiri has nearly 250 students at primary level, over 100 from the SOS village and the remainder from the local community. At secondary level, there are around 140 students.

• The school organises a whole range of activities to encourage the children’s academic and social development. These include a number of clubs, such as the science, debating and writer’s clubs. Sports include netball and football. Recently, children have also received a weekly newspaper which provided ideas for teaching and learning (sponsored by the Zain mobile phone network).
• The Secondary school recently held an HIV/AIDS awareness week, where pupils were encouraged to write articles and display work on notice boards. SOS Medical staff also gave counselling sessions about HIV/AIDs and a school show was organised with sketches, plays and songs. To round up the week of activities, children from the school were invited onto a local radio station talk-show about the disease.