AfriCan Educate had its origins in 2007 as a grassroots collaboration effort for the education of the orphans and disadvantaged children of Bucundura, Uganda that was privately supported and funded by those having a first-hand awareness of realities of life in Uganda. The team at AfriCan Educate did and does understand that an educated individual, and educated populations as a whole, have a better chance of achieving economic security and access to health care, as well as the ability and confidence to participate in civic life with the very real hope of enacting change.

Since its inception, the program has seen more than 400 children achieve various educational levels, including elementary and secondary school, as well as college, tertiary and vocational education. It has produced a Bachelor of Education graduate, nurses, tailors, knitters, carpenters, and handcraft certificates. Presently, in 2023, there are 228 children enrolled at varying levels of education in various schools. These kids, knowing the important role that education plays in their future, want to be able to attend school. We, at AfriCan Educate, want them to be able to stay there!

In Uganda, education is not just about tuition and books. We are talking “back to basics” . A child looking to go to school in Uganda must even be able to supply his or her own toilet paper and tooth brush. AfriCan Educate provides each of its “kids” with tuition, notebooks and/or paper, pens and pencils, soap, uniforms, and shoes.  These are all required elements for being able to attend school in Uganda. Additionally, as secondary level students often have to travel long distances to attend school and college students generally board on campus, we provide travel and room and board expenses as needed.

The team at AfriCan Educate understands that in order for children to have a future and break the cycle of poverty they need to be able to stay healthy and have a support system. When the basic, temporal needs are in place children can concentrate on the benefits of the educational opportunities being afforded them.

To that end, AfriCan Educate desires to help alleviate the suffering experienced as a result of an uneducated population subjected to a system and culture which it is not equipped to navigate. Through education, the primary goal, each of the kids better prepares for a self-reliant future. As that goal continues to be achieved, we eventually hope, in collaboration with those  we serve, to expand the organization’s helping presence through the following types of projects:  the building of proprietary schools—one, the St. Charles Lwanga Nursery and Primary School, we completed in 2022 (click on News);  the institution of available health and community services which will provide for ongoing healthcare for the kids and their families;  the implementation of nutritional training and food programs;   providing for the treatment of malaria and its prevention (by supplying mosquito nets);  the provision of higher quality “food seed” and access to safe drinking water;  the  establishment of support systems and counseling services for  families living with the reality of HIV and those who are victims of abuse and exploitation, and even the establishment of loan programs for deserving projects proposed by graduates or their community.

More recently, as AfriCan Educate has evolved into its new identity, we have witnessed an interest -  more like a desire and willingness  - on the part of “Children of Plenty” to join in the effort to serve the needs of the Ugandan “Children of Want”, literally and figuratively. Even teenagers are wanting to jump on board! With kids, there are no boundaries. Kids are just kids and they love to make connections with other kids and interact with each other wherever they happen to call “home” on the planet.  It appears the adults are following suit.  As AfriCan Educate provides the means for Ugandan kids to receive life-changing educational opportunities, so, too, do all those involved have the opportunity to become personally involved and make connections with the actual kids being served. AfriCan Educate is a “boots on the ground” operation, working directly with the children, their families or guardians, and the schools. Not only do AfriCan Educate’s supporters get the satisfaction of knowing they are acting as their “brothers’ keepers”, there is also the opportunity to establish relationships and even lasting friendships with those to whom they are extending a helping hand!