With an estimated 59 million primary school-age children worldwide out of education, we take a look at two capital initiatives fighting to keep the kids in class…

While most of us might not have used much algebra since school, there’s no doubt that from finances to figuring out the grocery bill, maths is an integral part of our everyday lives.

It’s with this in mind that three students from New York University Abu Dhabi have established an education programme in Uganda to make the subject add up for young children.

REACH Uganda, established in January 2016, is working with 32 schools in the poverty-stricken Wakiso District to provide a sustainable system for learning.

By providing textbooks and other resources, the programme aims to spark young minds to consider the possibilities of a life with learning.

“In Uganda’s primary schools especially, there’s a lack of financial resources,” explains Clara Bicalho Maia Correia, one of four co-founders on the project. “There’s high drop-out and repetition rates, and a lack of attendance. One of the reasons for this is the lack of resources.”

With anywhere from 72 to 100 students per class, demand exceeds means and teachers are struggling to keep up.

By offering training to engage children in new ways, the initiative seeks to dispel the locally held notion that education isn’t applicable to real life.

From egg cartons for multiplication to using body parts to measure angles, the project educates the teachers on using what they’ve got to keep kids interested.

“We didn’t want to give teachers learning methods that meant the school would have to buy new equipment,” explains fellow co-founder Eduardo Campillo. “We tried to find things they could use from their everyday lives.”

For more information, visit: reach-uganda.org

Game plan

Education is also the name of the game with the Impoverished Children programme, which works out of Nairobi’s Kibera slums in Kenya.

With one million documented residents, the slum is one of the world’s largest, and the grassroots charity works to protect its smallest, most vulnerable members, operating both a school – Shine Academy – and rescue home in the community.

But while food and financial aid are always in dire need, board games store owner Mark Azzam combined his love for tabletop games and a desire to help the kids’ educational journey to make a donation of a different kind.

“We brought over some games for the children to help them to learn in a different way, to think outside the box,” says Mark of Back to Games in Boutik Mall. “There’s also a sense leisure time is something that’s missing in their lives.”

With 200 children vying for 30 school places each year, Shine Academy is over-subscribed and under-equipped, but it’s allowing kids in the Kibera slums to thrive in a way that they never have before.

“Shine Academy provides children with an education, as well as with basic things like real toilets and a food programme,” Mark says. “It’s also about building their confidence and giving them the right tools to be a part of society.”

To find out more, visit: impoverishedchildren.org

WORDS Camille Hogg