Education is an essential tool to fight poverty and corruption, and the best way to help people improve someone’s situation ⎼ especially when only 40 percent of children finish school in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. At the schools we support through Child Africa in Uganda, children learn “honesty and integrity” as a school subject. After all, they are the future leaders of Africa that can help put an end to extreme poverty. Education has proven to be the best way to create social change in the areas where Better Globe Forestry Ltd. (BGF) operates

In East Africa’s underprivileged communities, many children have to contribute to the household economy. Supporting the family prevents countless children from attending school regularly. To further complicate the situation, schools are not free, as they are in many other parts of the world. And parents in poor communities often cannot afford to let their children go to school over extended periods. Instead, the kids are needed at home, and the money is needed for food.

Children in the rural parts of Kenya and Uganda usually need to bring water to school as there often is a shortage, especially in the drier counties. As BGF establishes its plantations and creates well-paid jobs in rural areas, the children, as a result, are far more likely to go to school.

Students at Mboti School, Sosoma, Kenya

Building and renovating schools

When our customers buy tre, we help BGF in partnership with Child Africa International to finance the renovation and construction of new schools. In each donation package, some money is allocated to upgrade schools in the areas BGF operates. With funds our customers have generated for BGF, Child Africa has renovated three schools in Kenya up until 2017. In Uganda, parts of two schools have been built with support from our customers. The latest of the schools is the one you see in the photo below.

The largest Child Africa school in Kabale, Uganda, helped by the donation package and opened in 2016

BGF is purely a forestry company, as mentioned before, and does not run any schools, and they do not build any schools. BGF leaves that to their NGO partner, Child Africa, other local organizations, parent cooperatives, and alike. However, they do have a close relationship with Child Africa. The charity is a child education NGO (Non-Governmental-Organization) that operates schools primarily in Uganda. In 2014, in competition with 50 other charities, Child Africa was awarded the best NGO in the field of education.

Child Africa International

The NGO was established in 1991 by Ugandan born Julie Solberg and her husband and Better Globe Group chairman Rino Solberg. In their humble beginnings, they focused on paying school fees and books for children in Uganda. Currently, Child Africa operates schools and sponsorship programs, primarily in Uganda. The donations package has also enabled them to support some schools in Kenya. And a few years back, Child Africa reached the milestone of having helped more than 10 000 children attend school in Uganda alone.

Like most charities, Child Africa relies on companies, organizations, and individuals to contribute to their activities in different ways. 100% of the teachers’ wages, books, and, particularly, food and clothing for the children, comes from contributions of varying kinds. In addition to a large portion of the earmarked money for the schools in the donation packages, a large part of the Better Globe’s profits is also used to support Child Africa’s work.

Child Africa International’s headquarters in Kabale, Uganda

Child Africa’s schools and activities are known far outside the Ugandan and Kenyan borders. They offer an education that helps children from socio-economically poor conditions become successful in school. Child Africa’s students’ performance is on the same level as the “finest” schools in the district. The pedagogy focuses on building self-confidence and working with core values such as integrity, all in keeping with the desire to combat poverty and corruption.

Child Africa was also known for integrating disabled children, mainly deaf children, into regular school activities. All the children at the schools used to learn sign language to help with communication between those with hearing disabilities and the other children. Child Africa has also gained notice for using mobile phones to assist deaf children and as a part of the integration process at their schools.

Kate is one of the deaf pupils, from her graduation day in Kabale, Uganda