We believe in empowering children
with long-term, high-quality education and leadership skills to improve the lives of their families, friends and communities.
Our Scholarship Program
The Child is Innocent is committed to providing a first-class education to the children in our program. We provide long-term scholarship support for children selected for sponsorship from as young as 7 years old through the completion of a university or vocational degree with which graduates can pursue careers in Uganda and give back to their community. Scholarships pay entirely the room, board, tuition, supply and transport costs for students to attend some of Uganda’s best boarding schools - a level of education they would have no means of accessing without this support. If you choose to sponsor a specific child, you will have the opportunity to follow their progress over time and receive a yearly update and photo for the child you sponsor. If you wish to correspond directly with your sponsored child we are happy to facilitate this!
Our Leadership Training
In addition to sponsoring the tuition, room, board and all expenses for students chosen for scholarship in this program, TCII has developed an innovative Leadership Training which accompanies and augments the educational experience of every student in the program.
Drawing on the principles of recreational therapy, experiential learning and evidence-based youth empowerment, The Leadership Training, held on the site of a primary school in Gulu, is an opportunity for every student in the program to come together, learn and have fun as a wider community for a week each January.
The leadership training week combines a summer camp-like atmosphere with career panels, inspirational speakers and small discussion groups. Students have fun while building confidence in themselves, making new friends and overcoming challenges through teamwork and supporting one another.
The older students in our program serve as
“Graduate Facilitators” during the week - leading small groups of 8-10 younger students and gaining experience and confidence in their leadership skills through this process.
In addition, program graduates who are now working in careers from plumbing, teaching, medicine, engineering, law and more return to the Leadership Training in Gulu to serve as mentors and role models for their younger peers.
Our graduates provide perspective and advice to the current students, as they were in their shoes just a few years ago and have now gone on to become community leaders with successful careers of their own. This opportunity for younger students to connect with graduates of the program who have overcome similar challenges to their own has enormous implications for our students’ confidence and conception of what is possible for their own lives.
Our Recruitment Process
Our commitment to a child is long-term - in many cases we support children from as young as seven until they complete a University or vocational degree. Children are selected for scholarships on the basis of their aptitude, motivation, financial need, and level of vulnerability.
Scholarship students are recruited by our Ugandan staff. Through consultation with community leaders, schoolteachers and others in positions to assess a child’s potential, we define an applicant pool. These children and their parents or guardians are then interviewed and, where necessary, additional research is undertaken to verify the information provided at interview. We strive to serve only the most economically needy children who would truly have no other options for the type of education TCII supports. TCII also maintains an approximately 60:40 ratio favoring girls due to the additional historic disadvantages they face in their lives in Uganda.