Two years ago, 24-year-old Jane Abbo noticed that many of her students at Wansimba Primary School in Bugiri District, Eastern Uganda, were falling behind. She began setting aside an hour each day to pull struggling students into small groups based on their reading, writing, and math abilities. Under the shade of a tree, Jane teaches level-appropriate, interactive lessons designed to help her students catch up. “Last year, nearly half of my class struggled with subtraction and division,” Jane reports. “But since I started Roots to Rise, most of them have become fluent in these concepts.”
About 10 kilometres away from Jane’s school, in front of a village church compound, 40-year-old Ivan Kirunda watches as his students arrange letter cards into words and sentences on the ground. A subsistence farmer and Community Education Volunteer (CEV), Ivan dedicates three hours every week to providing remedial reading, writing, and math lessons to children in his village. “Before Roots to Rise, many of the children here struggled with reading and writing,” Ivan notes proudly. “But now they can create their own sentences.”
Jane and Ivan are part of a larger story. Two years ago, a partnership between the Hempel Foundation and Building Tomorrow introduced the Roots to Rise program in three new districts in rural Eastern Uganda: Bugiri, Bugweri, and Kaliro. For the first time, Building Tomorrow Fellows were deployed to these communities, where they mobilized Community Education Volunteers and local education stakeholders to focus on foundational learning. Now, as this first cohort of Fellows completes their work, the impact is clear: local changemakers like Jane and Ivan have the skills and support to continue reaching children, ensuring they learn to read, write, and perform basic math long after the Fellows move on.
Progress by Numbers
The impact over the past two years has been significant. More than 67,000 learners have enrolled in Roots to Rise across the three districts, with more than 89.8% of learners improving at least one level in their literacy and/or numeracy levels, while 72.4% achieved the minimum proficiency level for their grade level in literacy and 71.2% in numeracy. This represents major learning gains for children who previously had little access to quality foundational education.
The partnership has enabled the mobilization of local communities at a significant scale. 480 Community Education Volunteers have been recruited and trained across Bugiri, Bugweri, and Kaliro, dedicating more than 165,000 hours to delivering targeted instruction, enrolling out-of-school children, conducting household visits, and supporting other educational activities in their villages. Roots to Rise-trained teachers like Jane have learned the Roots to Rise methodology, giving them the tools to identify learning gaps and provide the right support at the right time. Meanwhile, CEVs like Ivan have brought learning directly to children who might otherwise never catch up.
Voices From the Field
The numbers tell us the scale, but voices from communities tell us what it truly means. Children like 10-year-old Harriet, who once struggled with basic addition and subtraction, are now confident enough to help their classmates. “Now I can solve problems on my own and even help my friends when they don’t understand,” Harriet notes. For Harriet, it means independence and pride.
Parents are witnessing transformations they once thought impossible. Mothers like Jenifer are relieved and proud to see their daughters back in school after nearly two years out. “When she dropped out, I worried about her future,” Jenifer shares. “Now I see her dreaming about secondary school.” For parents like Jenifer, it means believing in their daughters’ futures again.
Teachers, too, are experiencing a shift in how they approach their work. Anthony, a teacher from Kaliro District, now feels better prepared to support students who are falling behind. “Before R2R, I wasn’t very sure how to help the children who couldn’t keep up with others,” he explains. “Now I have a clear path to bring them back on track and the tools to meet each child where they are.” For teachers like Anthony, it means finally having the tools to reach every student.
Looking Forward
Two years into this partnership, the evidence is clear: community-powered education is effective. Thousands of children have gained the foundational skills they need for a brighter future. Hundreds of Community Education Volunteers have stepped up to support learners in their communities, and teachers now have the tools to reach every student. Students like Harriet, parents like Jenifer, and teachers like Anthony, from Bugiri, Bugweri, and Kaliro, reflect a fundamental shift in Eastern Uganda.
The partnership between the Hempel Foundation and Building Tomorrow aligns with the Foundation’s strategy to strengthen foundational learning through evidence-based approaches to literacy and numeracy. The progress in these three districts demonstrates what can be achieved when local commitment aligns with effective methodologies. For children who once struggled, parents who once worried, and teachers who felt helpless, the Roots to Rise program is opening doors that were previously closed.
