Service Learning Projects

Service Learning Projects in Uganda

Our Service Learning Projects in Uganda are tailored by the communities they support, offering visiting students a real opportunity to engage in meaningful community service while building their skills and gaining rich life experiences in Africa. We offer a range of conservation, education, community, and health projects that involve schools, clinics, sports initiatives, and more.

What are Service Learning Projects in Uganda?

Service-learning is a fantastic way for students to learn by actively participating in their education while also developing civic knowledge and skills. By taking service-learning trip to Uganda, students get the opportunity to work with non-profit and public organizations on real issues affecting their communities. This experience allows them to learn the material while taking direct action, giving them a better understanding of their community. Service-learning is available in all disciplines in Uganda

Community Sports Development:

Our goal is to help youth in vulnerable communities by partnering with organizations that assist those struggling with poverty. We work with students in under-resourced areas of Uganda to gain insight from the community and create a positive impact through sports. However, these communities often face challenges such as inadequate housing, insufficient services, limited access to quality healthcare, high unemployment rates, and obstacles to education and skill development.

Program Overview

Our goal is to make a positive and lasting impact on the lives of young people in disadvantaged communities. To achieve this, we collaborate with local organizations that serve populations facing the complex challenges associated with poverty. In Uganda, our students work with several under-resourced communities, listening to their experiences and making a meaningful impact through sport. The communities we work with often face barriers such as limited access to quality healthcare, education, and skill development opportunities, high unemployment rates, and inadequate housing and services.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Acquire teaching skills for physical education classes in Ugandan schools
• Design and create engaging sports classes for schools, such as new games, fitness assessments, and competitions
• Organize fun games and obstacle courses for aftercare programs, and develop other innovative activities for teaching sports.
• Learn about community-based initiatives in Uganda and collaborate with local professionals to recognize their impact on serving communities.
• Teach Ugandan children from vulnerable communities about new sports ideas and inspire them with motivation through sports.

Community Initiatives

There are many opportunities for students to get involved in the community, including facilitating sports, assisting with education, receiving entrepreneurial training, and participating in youth events.

Overview of the Project

In this area, there is a lack of tarred roads, schools, electricity, piped water, policing, social services, sewerage treatment and medical clinics. Unfortunately, many of the residents live in informal housing and the unemployment rate is over 70%. There is also a significant percentage of children who suffer neglect and malnutrition, and do not receive an adequate education, especially those who take responsibility over their own households.

The impact of the service

Children often come back to empty homes from school and spend their time aimlessly around the village. Despite having high aspirations for their future, they lack the necessary social support to fulfill their potential. However, there are numerous opportunities for these students to actively participate in community initiatives and create their own experiences.

The community project is perfect for:
• The rebuilding of social fiber (in partnership with other organizations)
• Educational assistance (including Pre-School)
• Home-based visits
• Life skills education
• Entrepreneurial training
• Children’s afternoon clubs
• Market gardening training
• Support groups
• Youth events
• Sports facilitation
• Work for food programs

Forest Regeneration and reforestation

Our goal is to support the creation of botanic Gardens that provide an exceptional learning environment for Permaculture Design programs. These programs offer practical skills and methods for designing and building sustainable living systems that prioritize human needs while integrating with.

Project Overview

Sustainable food production and the preservation of Uganda’s forests are fundamental to the wellbeing of local communities and cannot be separated. However, with the growing human population in Uganda, more land is needed for food production, which leads to the removal of indigenous vegetation without clear legislation or incentive to protect it. This often results in a monoculture of Eucalyptus, Wattle, and Cypress timber plantations or food-based cash crops that lead to a steep decline in biodiversity and viable ecosystem services.
Fortunately, Msafiri Tours has set an example of a sustainable solution to reforestation in Uganda. By combining a high diversity of indigenous plants and using non-chemical methods to keep invasive species at bay, indigenous forests can contribute to a sharp, measurable increase in biodiversity and cleaner river water for downstream communities.
We aim to establish a botanical garden that will offer the perfect learning space for permaculture design programs, which offer practical skills for designing and creating sustainable living systems that integrate the human needs with ecosystems in which we are rooted. By joining reforestation and permaculture community education initiatives, we can empower and train the local community to replicate these sustainable efforts elsewhere.

Learning outcomes:
• Explore the rich history of African forests and the traditional use of plants for their medicinal value.
• Gain insight into the threats that indigenous vegetation and biodiversity faces in Uganda, both in the past and in current times.
• Develop a practical manual on how to revive degraded land and learn hands-on skills for collecting data in the field.
• Discover various strategies to boost productivity and design optimal yield systems.

School assistance

The service learning project at Busu Primary School involves practical projects around the school grounds and in some of the buildings. The project aims to provide extra-curricular programs, teach English, and assist students with various activities.

Project Overview

Busu Primary School was established as a free public school in Iganga District with English being the language of instruction. The community in Busu Village worked tirelessly for many years to get a primary school built on their land so that young children wouldn’t have to walk long distances to the nearest public school. The Service Learning Program at Busu School encompasses beneficial projects around the school grounds and buildings. It involves conducting extracurricular activities, teaching English, providing computer literacy support to students, and assisting with meal preparation or tree planting.

Learning Outcomes

• Engage with teaching staff and students to gain insight into Uganda’s rich culture
• Gain experience teaching English as a foreign language
• Observe teaching practices commonly used in Uganda’s public school system
• Understand the challenges facing families and children in Uganda

Computer Literacy Program

computer training learning service project aims to equip children in small towns and rural communities in Uganda with basic computer skills. The Ugandan government has recently included Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the educational syllabus to ensure that school children acquire practical knowledge before graduating. Unfortunately, the lack of instructors has been impeding this policy. Our volunteer project enables volunteers to help local children develop their computer skills. By imparting basic computer skills such as internet orientation, typing, and software applications like Ms. Word, Ms. Excel, and Adobe Photoshop, volunteers can make valuable contributions that not only allow children to access the internet but also help improve their employment prospects.

Project Overview

Instructors are required to guide students in basic computer software programs, including Microsoft, using easy-to-follow methods. Volunteers are responsible for creating both practical and theoretical lessons for beginner students, so being attentive and patient is important. All sessions are conducted in English to ensure an effective learning experience.

Service Impact

With service learning involvement, one can get trained in education technology programming, introduce digital learning to rural communities that are isolated, and engage both students and teachers with effective and interactive technology-based learning devices.

Learning Outcomes

• Join us for hands-on experiences and close-up looks at rural schools in action
• Discover the world of tech innovation, coding, engineering, cutting-edge gadgets, and the impact on education in Uganda
• Grasp the power and effectiveness of technology in an evolving economy

Service Learning Projects in Uganda- Wish List

We would greatly appreciate any and all donations of used laptops, desktop computers, LCD monitors, mouse pads and mice, headphones, antivirus software, USB drives, burner software, Windows software packs, webcams, and any other software programs necessary for our computer training program in the village outreach. Thank you in advance for your generosity.