Global Outreach

It’s another muggy predawn on the equator, as children young as six trudge miles down the dusty dirt roads from their local villages and mud huts to the Central Region Ugandan municipality of Nkokonjeru.

The children make this daily trek so they can attend one of the schools in town. Even discounting the trucks and mini-buses flying by in the pitch dark, it’s still a major challenge.

A large number of children, orphaned by HIV/AIDS, are cared for by relatives, straining family budgets past the breaking point.

Gender challenges, child labor, early marriage, a shortage of motivated teachers, a lack of parental awareness, and the grinding poverty makes the education of Ugandan youth an almost overwhelming proposition. Many children are forced to drop out of school before completing primary school,to say nothing of continuing on to secondary school.

The lack of education dragging Uganda down creates a vicious cycle on a country of 41 million, the youngest on the planet with a median age of 16.

Into the void came Little Angels Catholic Primary School in Nkokonjeru, founded by Margaret Nakirijja the same year UPE was put in place. Starting with a handful of students and a few walls, with the goal of providing an “excellent Catholic and affordable primary school” education, Little Angels has been a shining light in the darkness.

Officially affiliated with the Lugazi Diocese and guided by the Department of Catholic Schools in Uganda, Little Angels has grown to 559 students, about equally divided between boys and girls, from grades K3 to P7.

In relationship with CARITAS