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Every parent wants their children to be educated, but families living in extreme poverty (making under $1.90/day according to the WHO) must make a daily choice between buying food, necessities & paying rent or paying school fees. And with the average family size of 5 children, even if 1 or 2 attend school, they cannot send all of them.
Hope Empowers Academy has a mission to help some of the poorest children on the planet get educated, thereby impacting generational poverty and improving the standard of community living. However, to be successful we must partner with donors to support the majority of school fees.
It's impossible to provide quality education to the extreme poor and fund it through school fees paid by families. The section below titled 'Understanding Uganda's School Fees' provides more information.
Our fees are considered ultra low-cost, but parents still can't afford to pay in full. Here are actual results from TERM ONE 2025:
Nursery Fees: 73 students @ $21 each = $1,533
Actual fees paid by 37 students = $521
Shortfall to cover school costs = $1,012
Primary Fees: 72 students @ $30 each = $2,160
Actual fees paid by 49 students = $872
Shortfall to cover school costs: $1,288
Actual financial shortfall Term One: $2,300
Parents have nowhere to turn with no loans, government programs, or other support to access money. Shall we restrict children from the poorest families from attending because they can't afford fees? That's what most schools do - they send kids home if parents don't pay in full. Hope Empowers Academy desperately wants to serve these children. So, what is the solution?
With more than 2000 scripture verses instructing us to support the poor and oppressed, God's heart is clear and our mission is unmistakable. For $15/month, your family will forever impact a family who lives in utter poverty. Together, we can change the trajectory of a child's life. Will you join us to sustain Hope Empowers Academy?
Although Primary School is “free” through Universal Primary Education which began in January 1997, families are faced with a myriad of fees. According to Ugandafact.com (2022-2023), average Primary School fees include a registration fee of $140 (500,000 UGX) and per term fees of $440-$520 (1.6 million-1.85 million UGX) depending on the grade. And students are expected to pay for uniforms.
Though Uganda's school enrollment rates increased after the start of free primary education, it also has one of the highest Primary School dropout rates worldwide. Up to 47% of children enrolled in primary education do not complete school and only 25% of students proceed to secondary education. Most high schools in East Africa are boarding schools and require students to live on campus and pay for living expenses with even higher tuition (equivalent to private U.S. schools)
With the Universal Primary Education, there was a huge increase in enrollment that overwhelmed the system with teacher, textbook, and classroom shortages leading to severely under-resourced schools and low educational outcomes.
In summary, the 'free' primary education may not be generating the expected outcomes, especially among the 'extreme poor' who still can't afford required fees to send their children to school.
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