Karamoja schools shield children from starvation

As hunger tightens its grip on Karamoja Sub-region, where prolonged drought and crop failures have left many households struggling to put food on the table, schools are increasingly becoming more than centres of learning for vulnerable children. They are a lifeline against starvation. 

An assessment of four of the 38 primary schools in Kaabong District by the Weekend Monitor found that enrolment in each school shot up by an average of 300 students every day due to the influx of uninvited guests, underage children from neighbouring communities. 

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  How hunger drives child trafficking in Karamoja

  “Some children from Karamoja are taken to places such as Mbale, Jinja, Kampala and Soroti, where they may be forced into street begging, domestic work or child labour"

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  Distant schools forcing Karamoja children onto streets –authorities

  Long distances trekked by children to access schools is a major problem leading to high rates of school dropouts in Karamoja region, local leaders have revealed

• Drought Kills 19, destroys Shs56b crops in Kotido as Karamoja faces severe famine

  The current crisis is compounded by the depletion of traditional safety nets

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  Karimojong children taken off streets to embrace education

  The government removed some of the Karimojong children from Kampala streets, and amid protestation by rights groups, rehabilitated and resettled them before enrolling them at school

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  Why Karamoja's children remain vulnerable despite the region's vast natural resources

  For nearly two decades, the Karamojong ethnic group has had the largest number of children on the streets in Uganda