Education & Sports Program in Uganda

Teaching is an immense privilege, inspiring young minds and seeing them grow can be one of the most exciting things a person can ever do. If you are already teaching, or if you are considering a career in education IVN has a great range of volunteering projects where you can develop your experience and use your skills to help children in Uganda.

If you have a passion to get people of any age excited about learning, and you would like to use your time developing this skill and encouraging others then please take a look at our projects and see exactly whose lives you could be impacting - as well as your own!
While quality education for both boys and girls is crucial in reducing poverty and promoting gender equality, many schools in rural areas are struggling with overcrowded classes, shortage of skilled teachers, shortage of resources such as textbooks and support materials; hence increasing illiteracy rates and unemployment among children of poorest families and communities.

Although these kids live in tough situations of poverty, they are extremely polite, cheerful and friendly, and are eager to learn. Teaching is a direct way to make a huge difference in their lives, impact educators, and contribute to the academic development of poor schools. IVN Teaching projects offer participants with both valuable life-changing experience and an opportunity to make a difference.

Volunteers in this field work alongside local teachers or on their own; at preschool, they teach basic English skills, and carry out basic childcare duties; at primary and secondary, they teach core subjects, such as English, mathematics, science, and can initiate extra-curricular activities after school such as art, music, theater, sports or gardening; they may also carryout small and manageable community groups or individual tutoring outside class for adults. Participants should not count on teaching resources being available and many classes may have large numbers but it is a challenge that is highly rewarding.

Important Note: Ugandan school holidays are in April, August and December. During this period, volunteers can take a break, travel, engage in tourist activities like safari, or participate in another placement (assist in the renovation of the school including painting, decorating and mending desks), or work on children’s centres, youth and women projects.

With any volunteer project, the nature of the volunteer’s work begins with the needs of the community. The specific tasks volunteers carry out depend on the project, the location, the time of year, and most importantly the needs of the individuals they are helping. You can contribute towards community projects during a gap year, career break or during holiday time.