Stories from Joy Nursery & Primary School
Introduction
Watchmen International Uganda Limited (WIU) is a Christian charity dedicated to transforming lives across Africa through both spiritual outreach and practical support. Its work spans four key areas: Spiritual Transformation, Lifewater (safe water provision), Nursery School Projects, and Africa Youth Award (Youth Empowerment)
At the heart of the nursery school project is a simple yet profound belief:
Every child given a strong start in life has the opportunity to realize their potential, experience success, and positively impact their community. That foundation begins in the home and is strengthened through access to education, equipping families and educators to nurture and develop the God-given gifts and talents within each child.
Class time at Joy Nursery
PROBLEM
In Uganda, access to quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) remains limited, particularly in rural and low-income communities. While primary education receives government support, nursery education is largely left to private and community efforts, making it inaccessible to many families. Approximately 43% to 45% of primary school pupils in Uganda drop out before completing their seven-year cycle, with about 4.5 million students affected annually, particularly in rural areas. Despite the Universal Primary Education (UPE) policy, only about 32% to 40% of pupils successfully complete Primary Seven (P7).
As a result:
Many children enter primary school without foundational literacy and numeracy skills
Schools are often overcrowded, under-resourced, and lack trained educators.
Hunger and poor health affect children’s ability to concentrate and learn
Dropout rates remain high, with many children failing to complete primary education
Without a strong start, children struggle to keep up academically, leading to repetition, loss of confidence, and eventual dropout.
Watchmen Nursery school project focus areas
Over the years, Watchmen has inspired communities and local churches to establish nursery schools to bridge the gap mentioned above.
PROJECT GOAL
To improve access to inclusive, quality early childhood education for vulnerable children, laying a strong foundation for lifelong learning and improved educational outcomes.
A Vision Born from What Was Missing
Long before there was a school in Buhuhira village, there was a man who understood deeply what it meant to grow up without education.
Andrew Baluku never had the opportunity to go to school. As a child, access simply did not exist in his community. As he grew older, he faced the daily challenges that come with lacking basic literacy and numeracy—struggles that shaped his life in profound ways.
But when Watchmen International began encouraging pastors to start nursery schools, something changed.
Pastor Baluku saw an opportunity—not for himself, but for the children of his community.
He offered his land.
There were no certainties. No structures. Not a guarantee of victory. No, just a deep belief that the next generation should not have to endure the same limitations he did.
The journey was not easy. In fact, the very first structure built for the school was swept away by floods—a devastating setback that could have ended the dream before it truly began.
But he did not stop.
With funding from Watchmen International, he rebuilt; he persisted; and he believed.
Today, that vision has grown into Joy Nursery & Primary School—a thriving learning community serving 639 pupils, including 200 children in the nursery section alone.
The impact
Hundreds of children are now learning to read and write. Teachers have gained meaningful employment. Families have renewed hope for their children’s future, and the impact has been so significant that the government was inspired to establish a school nearby.
What began as one man’s response to his own struggles has become a transformation for an entire community. However, these numbers have surpassed Pastor Baluku's dreams, and now the classrooms are overcrowded. Children sit on benches and use their thighs as desks, while others opt to kneel down.
With your support we can expand classrooms, train teachers, and provide the learning materials and safe furniture these children urgently need.
Join Andrew Baluku and many others committed to increasing access to early childhood development education in the poorest communities.
Your donation will turn overcrowded benches into proper desks, give every child a place to learn with dignity, and ensure trained educators can nurture young minds during their most formative years.
Give today to help transform a community’s future—because when we invest in early education, we break cycles of poverty and open the door to lasting change.
