Africa Uganda

Our goal is to help refugee children in Uganda have the opportunity to gain a basic education in a safe learning space.

map Uganda is a landlocked nation in East Africa, bordered by Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.

The Situation

Uganda is currently host to one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world with over 1.5 million refugees having fled across borders from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo due to conflict.

In the Palabek refugee camp in northern Uganda approximately 80% of refugees are women and children, arriving with almost nothing. Nearly 60% of the refugees are children of school age.

The Ugandan government has one of the most open refugee policies in the world, offering each refugee who arrives the right to access basic services including education and land. Many refugees in Uganda have vowed never to return to their home country. Uganda is the fifth highest refugee receiving country and the huge number of new arrivals has put extreme pressure on both existing Ugandan education services and humanitarian emergency facilities.

60% of the refugees in Palabek are children

15,000 children are registered in the 10 primary schools

Over 10,000 children at the settlement are still unable to access an education

Our Work

Chaloner works in the Palabek refugee camp. It has built classroom blocks at two new schools, Canaan School and Progressive School. Both schools were originally open-air campuses and children were being taught in temporary structures or under trees. With our intervention, they are now being taught in classrooms which significantly improves learning outcomes.

Chaloner continues to expand its work in the camp. The government has recently opened up another two blocks of land for new arrivals, and Chaloner has undertaken the construction of a third school. Now that the initial emergency in the camp has passed, UNHCR and the office of the Prime Minister are responsible for the running of the camp. Both organisations work closely together, and they oversee the administration of the schools and are in charge of making sure that there is funding for teachers salaries.

Approximate Cost Per School
School classroom	$18,000
Class Furnishings	$2,500
Teaching materials per classroom	$400

Our Impact So Far…

Chaloner has now completed the construction of two new schools in the camp, the Canaan Primary School and Progressive School. CCCC provides furniture for the classrooms as well as teaching materials. In 2022 Canaan School was designated a government school and some of the teachers are now on the government payroll. Progressive School is currently applying to become a government school. There are approximately 5,000 children registered at the two schools.

Chaloner has undertaken the construction of a new school in an area which has recently been opened up to accommodate new arrivals. The Bright Future School was an open air campus, and CCCC has recently completed the building of six new classrooms. There are now over 2,000 children registered at the school.

The education crisis in the camp continues to grow with the continued increase of the number of school aged children arriving in the refugee camp. Our goal is to expand our work by building more schools, and once completed to get them designated as government schools so that they become responsible for their running costs.

Take Action Now

Chaloner Children’s Charity Canada is looking to expand its efforts in Uganda to help combat the education crisis, but we need your help. Your contributions could support a child’s whose life has been turned upside-down.

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