Soft Power Education Pre-Schools

In 1999 an ex overland driver had seen there was room for a charity in Uganda involved in enhancing the quality of children’s education through refurbishing and maintaining their schools. It was in this moment that Hannah Small set about creating Soft Power Education.

Based at Bujagali Falls, Hannah used the help, dedication and generosity of tourists and independent travelers to assist in the building of Buwenda Pre-School for Orphans. The land was a gift from the community and after twelve months of hard work, assisted by local builders, a pre-school appeared on the landscape. To the delight of 120 orphans the pre-school was officially opened in March 2003. Three qualified Ugandan teachers and one cleaner/teacher assistant staff the school.

The community of Kyabirwa looked on with interest and gifted more land to Soft Power Education requesting a similar school be built for their children. Kyabirwa Children’s Centre opened in the spring of 2004 to the sound of 100 AIDS orphans and children from desperately poor families. We employ the same staff numbers as at Buwenda – teachers who are determined to encourage these little ones to learn English, play games, write, sing and dance.

Pre-schools: Buwenda Pre-School and Kyabirwa Pre-School provide free access to pre-school education for pupils who have lost one or both parents from AIDS or are from extremely impoverished families identified through an interview process.

Ages: Soft Power Education (SPE) pre-schools age children (roughly ages 4-5 years) attend these two centers Monday – Friday from 8.30am to 12:30pm.

Soft Power Education (SPE) pre-schools pupils participate in singing, writing, playing, story-telling, painting, and learning. These centers are a stepping stone to encourage children to attend primary education by providing a good foundation for learning to children who would otherwise be out of school.