OUR MISSION
To protect, heal, empower, and support vulnerable children and youth through music, life skills, and education.
OUR VISION
To be a leading organization in transforming the lives
of Uganda’s new generations.
Schooling in Uganda
An education is essential for all children, but even more so for our kids who have so many challenges to overcome. Knowledge empowers these children to break the cycle of ignorance and poverty, helps them find their interests, discover their voices, and gain self-confidence. An education gives them a chance to be successful in a difficult world.
Uganda has three types of schools: First-class, second-class, and third-class, for primary and secondary students. There are both day schools and boarding schools. First class schools have the highest quality of education and are the most expensive. M-LISADA’s goal is to send as many children to school as possible, and so we concentrate on sending them to moderately priced second-class schools.
The high cost of schooling in Uganda means that vulnerable children are often unable to go to school and get the education they need to change their lives. If they are able to go, through educational sponsorship from organizations like M-LISADA, there are still many issues that the children face once they are in school.
The children are often placed in overcrowded classrooms with teachers that are ill-equipped to understand, respect, or work with vulnerable children. Frequently in most Ugandan schools, hitting children is an accepted form of discipline, a policy M-LISADA unequivocally condemns, especially for our children, who have been subjected to so much early trauma. Instead, M-LISADA believes in an environment of positive reinforcement.
Without understanding, support, and patience, it is hard for vulnerable children to integrate into school and to adapt to the demands of going to school. It is a big adjustment from living on the streets or in an unstable environment, to being in school full-time. Just the act of sitting quietly and listening to a teacher for a whole day is a new and difficult task for many children. If children are made to feel unwelcome, it is easy for them to become discouraged with education and to drop out.