Our Work · Smart Kyakataama
Support a schoolkid in Uganda
Help a child go to school – with just €250 per year.
What we do
With your donation we can send children from Kyakataama, a small village in western Uganda, to school. For only €250 per year we ensure they can attend classes – including school materials and lunch.
Families in Kyakataama live off subsistence farming and rarely have enough money to send their children to school. Without support, many children are forced to drop out. Through our programme they can continue their education, which changes not only their future but also that of their families.
One hundred per cent of the funds go directly to the children. Your contribution relieves families and gives them a chance to improve their financial situation, and the Toonda Cultural Center promotes self-help and fosters long-term change.
About Smart Kyakataama
We arrange school sponsors for children in Kyakataama, a small village near Fort Portal in western Uganda. The large families mostly live as self-supporters in mud huts, money is hardly available, and therefore the children cannot be sent to school.
We want to change this. Thanks to our programme, 78 kids are now able to go to school and make their families proud. There is still more to come.
We connect sponsors with children in Kyakataama, a small village near Fort Portal in western Uganda. Large families primarily live as subsistence farmers in mud huts, and money is scarce, making it difficult for children to attend school.
Why we’re doing this
After falling in love with the Crater Lakes region in western Uganda, we moved here to Kyakataama village. We wanted, and still want, to promote cultural exchange on the ground between artists of Uganda and Germany, to create not only an art exchange but a cultural exchange between two continents. We have been working on “TOONDA”, as we call our project (Swahili for to create) since October 2018.
We quickly grew fond of our neighbours in the village. The families live as self-supporters, mostly in mud huts with 6 to 12 children. The food they grow themselves is just enough, and the money they earn from small jobs here and there is of course invested in food.
The question quickly came to us whether the children can go to school and what that costs at all. Many parents apparently try to send one or the other child to school when they have just earned something. As soon as the money runs out and the school fees can no longer be paid, the children are excluded from school.
Kyakataama
The settlement of Kyakataama is about six hours’ drive from the capital Kampala and one hour from Fort Portal. Small huts spread over several hills at the crater lake Nyambuga. The inhabitants are mostly Atoro and speak Rutoro. Few speak English; some men can write, as they used to be sent to school preferentially.
Our neighbours are hardworking farmers who mainly grow matooke (green plantains), beans, maize and cassava. They are helpful, calm and friendly people who work hard to make things better for their children. Since sons inherit land, fathers are now also convinced that their daughters should go to school so that they can build their own future.
Smart Kyakataama
Since we are looking for sponsors for the children in the village and everyone here wants to be “smart”, the name of the project was quickly decided.
Questions about sponsorship
What does €250 cover?
A full year of school for one child, including classes, school materials and lunch.
How much of my donation reaches the child?
One hundred per cent of the funds go directly to the children.
How many children are in the programme?
78 children are able to go to school thanks to the programme, and there is still more to come.
Why can’t families pay the fees themselves?
Families live off subsistence farming. What they grow is just enough to eat, and what little money they earn goes on food. When the fees can no longer be paid, the child is excluded from school.
Please support our kids in going to school
Join us – support a child. With just €250 per year you help a child experience an entire year of school. Toonda Cultural Center – help for self-help.