About LEAD Uganda

LEAD Uganda is an educational leadership initiative for children affected by AIDS, war, and poverty. .

We locate children living on the edges of society - AIDS orphans, former child soldiers, child laborers - and mold them into leaders. Our goal is to give Africans the skills to help solve their own problems and become equal partners in a world of democracy and prosperity.

We give them the world class, 21st century skills necessary to lead Africa into the future.

Our student-members attend the very best primary and secondary schools,then go to university. Our scholars attend top, elite schools -- where cabinet ministers send their children.

We furnish them with everything they need to succeed: school fees, books and supplies, clothing, and food.During school breaks, our students receive coaching in English, math, and science. They attend vacation workshops in leadership, web design, writing, video, and photography.

LEAD Uganda is a family to our children. We give our youngsters a disciplined, loving family environment. Our staff and volunteers nurture them and help them overcome their traumas with counseling and emotional support. Our children receive medical care from the best doctors in the country.

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LEAD Uganda, an educational leadership program, offers an innovative remedy to the issue of child soldiers and abducted children; and to the HIV / AIDS crisis.

Find out more about Issues facing Uganda's children (PDF)

Our model is replicable. While the education of young leaders and innovators will not solve all of Africa's woes, it is a crucial component of the solution and a proven remedy for poverty.

LEAD Uganda partners with Concern for the Future, an indigenous Ugandan non-profit, that looks after the children.

LEAD Uganda (Stephen Shames Foundation) is a non-profit organization that collects donations to educate AIDS orphans, child soldiers, sex slaves, child laborers, street kids, siblings in child-headed families and other vulnerable children in Uganda.

Concern for the Future is an indigenous NGO (non-profit) run by Director, Monica Nankoma a staff of five, and a dozen volunteers. Concern runs the LEAD Uganda educational leadership initiative. Concern looks after the children.

Concern for the Future's staff, all native Ugandans, find bright, motivated AIDS orphans, child soldiers, children in refugee camps, and other vulnerable youth in Uganda who want to go to college but can't because of poverty, AIDS, and war.  

The LEAD Uganda Program - Specifics

Education / Academic
Our students excel. Our students attend the best schools. Half of our high school scholars attend the top ten elite schools in Uganda, schools where virtually every student goes on to university.

In addition to paying their school fees, providing books, supplies, and clothing; we hire teachers to tutor our students after class.

Workshops & Tutoring
We run workshops during the December - January school break and during the August vacation. We bring in experts from American and Europe, as well as, hire Ugandan teachers and professionals. Our students learn web design, video, photography, English, math, and science.

Leadership
We train out students to be leaders. Concern for the Future students serve as advisers to the CFTF board where they help run the program. A dozen of our students were elected to leadership positions at their schools. They serve as prefects (class presidents), deputy head boys and girl (vice president), dorm heads, and school officers. Our scholars were delegates at youth conferences in Nigeria and California. Our students perform community service in remote village and refugee camps.

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Medical
Concern for the Future gives children the ability to achieve through education.  However, many of our children fall behind in school due to frequent illnesses. To enable our children to achieve the success they deserve, so they can continue to excel in school; it is vital that our scholars remain healthy.

Housing, Food, Clothing
Concern for the Future rented a house in Kampala big enough for all of our children.

Most of our students can not go home for extended periods during school breaks. The situation in the north is not safe — children are still abducted. Our child-headed families, as well as most of our other children, do not have adequate food at home. The children and their guardians asked us to keep them during school vacations.

We provide clothing, shoes, school supplies, and a small amount of pocket money to our children. They go to schools with sons and daughters of wealthy and middle class youngsters. In order for them to outperform children who have all the advantages, they need to start on an even level.

Family / Support & Counseling
Our staff and volunteers are trained peer counselors and community leaders. They provide firm discipline and love. They have created a family for our traumatized child soldiers, children from refugee camps, AIDS orphans, street kids, and child laborers.

This is what makes our program unique. Our children are not clients. They belong to our family, they are members. When they return home from school, they say, "We are going to our house." The older youths care for, and look out for the younger children.

The staff and volunteers and our young scholars have created something that money can not buy: family.

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