Secondary schools in developing regions around the world offer life-changing education to kids from very poor families. In this enormous population, there are many kids with genius – for engineering, for technology, for communications, for medicine – that could transform their schools, their communities, their countries, and our world.
All they need is a chance.
Bujuuko High School, our pioneer school, is located in Bujuuko, Uganda, a small community outside the capitol city of Kampala. Many families in Bujuuko have trouble earning enough to pay school fees for their kids, roughly $45 per trimester.
Bujuuko High School relies on these modest school fees to survive, and survival is difficult. When families fall behind on tuition, there is sometimes not enough money to pay teachers. Security around the school is minimal and student safety is not assured.
Faced with these and other obstacles, kids at Bujuuko High School are disadvantaged in their efforts to learn and grow. There are only a few college scholarships and job opportunities available in Uganda, and kids from better-supported high schools are usually much more prepared to compete for them. Bujuuko kids and their families often remain stuck in a cycle of poverty, unable to develop their talents and work to make the world a better place for all.