The AfriChild Centre is the research and learning partner for a consortium of 5 organizations under the Kulea Watoto (Nurturing Children) Project. The consortium is led by the  International Rescue Committee (IRC), Kabarole Research and Resource Centre, The AfriChild Centre, Literacy and Adult Basic Education, and The Madrasa Early Childhood Programme.

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The AfriChild Speaker Series 2023

The AfriChild Speaker series is an initiative by AfriChild to strengthen child well-being by providing a platform for engagement between academia, policymakers, and practitioners. This platform involves disseminating research evidence and discussing interventions related to child wellbeing to contribute to the SDGs 2030 and Agenda 2063. With the aim of interesting graduate students in child-focused research, we started the AfriChild Speaker Series.

Episode 1 - Graduate Students

Participants in the AfriChild Speaker Series

The AfriChild Speaker Series coordinating staff Maria Ndibalekera & Clare Bangirana

With the aim of interesting graduate students in child-focused research, we started the AfriChild Speaker Series. It is a platform for engagement between academia, policymakers, and practitioners. The Speaker Series involves disseminating research evidence and discussing interventions related to child wellbeing to contribute to the SDGs 2030 and Agenda 2063. The second speaker series session was held on 1^st February 2023 under the theme; The National Child Focused Research Agenda: An Opportunity for Postgraduate Research Completion. It was meant to introduce the graduate students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Makerere University to child-focused research and to also share with them the National Child-Focused Research Agenda.

Episode 2 - Uganda Police Force

Speaker Series Graduate Participants from the Uganda Police Force

The third speaker series session was held on 14th April 2023 with police officers/ participants who are pursuing advanced studies (masters) in peace and conflict studies at Makerere University but based at the police command and staff college Bwebajja. The session theme was; the national child-focused research agenda an opportunity for better protection of the rights of Ugandan children. 28 police officers(students), (2) two senior police officers including the Deputy Police commandant, three Makerere University Lecturers; Prof Hellen Nkalaba, Dr Resty Naiga and five AfriChild staff as shown above participated. The session was facilitated by Clare Ahabwe Bangirana.

Introduction: In a collaborative effort to advance child-focused research in Uganda, the AfriChild Centre launched the Inter-University Programme. This initiative aims to strengthen inter-university collaboration and training in child-focused research skills, preparing mid-level researchers to make significant contributions in this critical field.

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Currently, ECD services in Uganda are primarily funded by the private sector and civil society, with no public investment. Of the 4.6 million children aged 3-5, about 3.86 million lack access to quality ECD services, with a gross enrolment rate of just 16% in licensed centres. The AfriChild Centre is undertaking a needs assessment related to the availability and gaps of the ECCE services in the four target districts of Madi Okollo, Terego, Kampala and  Isingiro, including identification of the demand and appetite of parents and communities for parent-supported ECCE services and the interest of youth in working in both the  ECCE sector and the ecosystem around the ECCE as a result of skills.

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The goal of the Ubumwe 2.0: Integrating Arts Education and Psychosocial Support with Children and Youth Affected Affected by Displacement in Uganda project is to integrate culturally and contextually relevant arts education in schools for children and youth affected by displacement, and to support teachers in the uptake of arts-based practices that meaningfully support children. The Ubumwe project, based on a Kinyabwisha term meaning “togetherness,” builds on an initial pilot that developed and tested an integrated arts-focused curriculum in a community school in the Kyangwali refugee settlement in southwestern Uganda, home to over 135,000 refugees coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and South Sudan.

For Ubumwe 2.0, researchers, educators and artists from the U.S. and Uganda, will work together to further develop and expand the arts curriculum for children in 3-4 primary schools in the Kyangwali settlement, collaborating closely with national Ugandan authorities responsible for curriculum development. Teachers and school leaders will participate in teacher professional development on arts education and psychosocial support, led by local teaching artists and mental health practitioners. The project will contribute to understanding the impact of the arts and to advocate for broader integration of the arts into school programming for refugee children as well as learners across Uganda through alignment with the national curriculum.

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The AfriChild Centre is implementing an inception project to address the different types of child exploitation in Moroto and Napak. Among Karamoja’s population of approximately 1.4 million, government statistics indicate a child marriage rate of 50% and a child labour rate of 55%. The region also has the highest rate of children trafficked into urban areas of Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia. Previous studies indicate that the main forms of child exploitation prevalent in the region include child marriage, child labour, trafficking, and the recruitment of children as child warriors. Guided by intervention research that we shall commission, we shall determine which specific form of child exploitation to focus on. Additionally, we seek to understand the intersection between climate adaptation and child exploitation, exploring how best to address these challenges while contributing to better food security for the participating communities. The inception year will focus on two of the nine districts in the Karamoja sub-region: Moroto and Napak.