education

Opening Doors to Education — From Preschool Through Secondary School

In Uganda, universal primary education ensures that all school-aged children can enroll — but far fewer finish, and fewer still reach secondary school. For vulnerable children, the barriers are steep: school fees, uniforms, supplies, and the pull of domestic labor or early marriage. Teachers face their own challenges, including limited access to training and resources. BKB has spent more than 25 years working to dismantle those barriers — one child, one school, one teacher at a time.


Gogolo Junior School

In 2015, BKB opened Gogolo Junior School in Kisubi, a community with acute educational needs. What began with six kindergarteners and two teachers has grown into a thriving school serving more than 600 students from pre-kindergarten through Primary 7.

 

Gogolo is more than a school — it is a model for quality education in rural Uganda, demonstrating what becomes possible with smaller class sizes, evidence-based teaching methods, and ongoing teacher development. In 2024, 12 of our 19 students in our first-ever Primary 7 class scored in the top division in Uganda's national examinations — a result that reflects both the caliber of teaching and the determination of students who began their education in conditions of significant hardship.


The school now includes fully equipped kindergarten and primary sections, dormitories for boarding students, teacher housing, library, computer room, a multipurpose hall, and a school kitchen — everything a child needs to focus on learning.

School Sponsorship Program

For children whose families cannot afford school fees, sponsorship is the difference between an education and dropping out. BKB's School Sponsorship Program covers school fees, uniforms, and supplies — supporting children from primary school through secondary and, where possible, vocational training.

 

Since 1999, BKB has sponsored 323 orphaned and vulnerable children. Many early graduates have since found employment and now support their own families. One former sponsee, Richard Lukaaga, is today a Stores Supervisor at Crown Beverages and a member of BKB's board of directors.


A focus on girls: BKB prioritizes sponsorship for girls from the most financially vulnerable families — those at highest risk of dropping out due to caregiving responsibilities, household poverty, or pressure to marry early. A sponsorship can set a girl on an entirely different path: one that leads toward further education, economic independence, and the ability to make her own choices.


Teacher Development

Quality education depends on quality teachers. BKB conducts professional development workshops open to teachers across Uganda, with a focus on mathematics, science, English, and experiential teaching methods grounded in best practice. To date, more than 452 teachers across Uganda have participated in BKB workshops, and 605 schools have received donated books for their libraries.