Skip to content
Nofam Uganda is locally led, a member of the Nofam Foundation Netherlands
Our model What we do Hope Forward Our network About us Trust Get involved Sponsor a child
What we do

Child empowerment, in practice

Grassroots organizations keep Uganda's most vulnerable children in school, healthy and safe. We make those organizations stronger — with shared technology, training and a growing network.

The challenge

Why Uganda, why now

Uganda is a youthful nation — more than half its population is under 18. That potential is held back by poverty and its consequences, felt hardest in rural and conflict-affected regions:

53.1%
of Ugandans are multidimensionally poor — deprived in education, health, basic services or living standards (UBOS, 2026)
~39%
of learners fail to transition from primary to secondary school — with dropout above 57% in Karamoja (UNICEF, 2026)
1 in 3
children reports experiencing physical violence at school — a major, overlooked driver of dropout (UNICEF Uganda, 2025)
29%
of children under five are stunted; under-five mortality stands at 43 per 1,000 live births (Africa's Children 2026)
3.1%
adolescent HIV prevalence, with girls disproportionately affected — care coverage remains uneven, leaving many children exposed to illness and stigma (Africa's Children 2026)
57%+
dropout in Karamoja — against under 15% in Kampala. Rural and conflict-affected regions like West Nile, Acholi and Sebei bear the greatest burden (UBOS/UNICEF, 2026)

These inequalities set our course: sponsorship programs must prioritize rural and conflict-affected regions, where poverty, food insecurity, early marriage and violence push the most children out of school.

The most direct response: sponsor one child →
Our strategic focus areas

Stronger organizations, so more children are reached

The grassroots organizations closest to children run the sponsorship programmes. Our work is to make them stronger — through four strategic focus areas that together form our strategic plan for 2026–2030. Hope Forward, our project for 2027–2029, is how we deliver it.

1
Education access and sponsorship
Transparent, accountable sponsorship on the Nofam platform, so children enter school and stay.
2
Grassroots network strengthening
Capacity, visibility and collaborative platforms for grassroots sponsorship organizations across Uganda.
3
Safe and supportive environments
Organizations equipped to create safe, nurturing environments for learning, development and future opportunity.
4
Partnerships and resource networks
Sustainable partnerships and resource networks that build capacity, resilience and impact.
What children gain

Every child at the center: seven mutually reinforcing areas of support, delivered by the partner organizations that know each child by name.

Education sponsorship Life skills development Mentorship Child protection Psychosocial support Health promotion Caregiver engagement
Read about Hope Forward, the project →
In practice

Child empowerment, in practice

Partner organizations know their children by name and run their own programmes. Here is who they reach, and how a sponsorship gets to a child.

Who we serve

Underprivileged and vulnerable children aged 5–19 — orphans, children with disabilities, children living with HIV/AIDS, refugee and migrant children, children in rural and hard-to-reach areas, and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. We also strengthen the civil society, community-based and faith-based organizations that serve them at national and local levels.

How a sponsorship reaches a child

1
Sponsor chooses a child
Through a partner organization's profile on the Nofam platform.
2
The partner runs the programme
The partner organization manages the sponsorship and its relationship with the sponsor.
3
The child is supported
School, care and protection, delivered locally by the people who know the child.
4
Sponsor sees updates
Photos, grades and notes flow back to the sponsor through the platform.
Be part of this story

For €0.50 a day, you keep one child safe and in school

Your support covers food, school fees and a teacher — the costs that return every month. You follow one real child's journey through the Nofam platform. Cancel anytime.

Sponsor a child →

Ready to empower children to become the future leaders of their regions?

Whether you run a grassroots organization or want to walk alongside one child — there is a place for you in this work.