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THE VISIBLE CHILD SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
One of the greatest needs in northern Uganda and one of the largest gaps in development comes in the region’s access to secondary education. To address this problem we created the Visible Child Scholarship Program, an initiative that develops the leadership and life skill capacities of promising students. Pioneered by Uganda’s Country Director Jolly Grace Okot, the program focuses on increased access to post-primary education, improved learning environments, and mentoring from local leaders. When the pilot program launched in 2005, we started by sponsoring 100 students. In only two years, the program has grown immensely, and to date we have 662* scholarship students located throughout the Gulu, Amuru, and Pader districts.The program itself is currently the only one within Invisible Children that is managed and operated entirely by Ugandan nationals, a model IC is continually striving for in Uganda - empowering and supporting local leaders to create positive change in their own country.*as of March 2008
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS.
Once accepted into the program each student is assigned a mentor—an employed community leader whose purpose is to build a personal relationship with the student and provide professional follow up for each child. Through these relationships, VCSP mentors ensure academic accountability, encourage scholastic success, foster leadership skills, and provide parental and career-oriented guidance for each student in the program.
VCSP mentors receive a variety of training prior to beginning work including psychosocial support, child protection, and trauma counseling. We currently employ 24 mentors, and, on average, each mentor works with 30 students. Frequent visits are made monthly to every student’s home and school to ensure that the student receives the full support needed for their personal and academic success.
In addition to scholarships and mentoring, VCSP also holds community sensitization seminars that educate school administrators, parents and guardians, and the community about the program and the need to support students throughout their education. These sensitization programs take place through planned community meetings and radio programs.
WHO THE PROGRAM HELPS.
Acceptance into the program is based on a combination of academic performance and need, with special consideration given to children who are total orphans, heads of household, formerly abducted returnees, those living positively with HIV/AIDS, or child mothers. Vulnerable and talented youth are identified in neglected areas of need throughout northern Uganda and then undergo a selection process that evaluates both their vulnerability and past academic performance. These children are then processed through a series of assessments at home and at school before they are officially accepted into the program.
The Numbers*:
• 40% of students are girls; 60% are boys
• 91% of students are orphans with 44.9% being partial orphans and 46.1% being total orphans
• 23.9% of students are orphans because of HIV/AIDS
• 23.9% of students are orphans due to war
• 5.5% of students are members of child-headed families
• 4.3% of students are child mothers
• 13.7% of students have been abducted by the LRA at least once
*as of November 2007
ONGOING DEVELOPMENTS.
In 2007, Invisible Children launched a pilot program to provide university scholarships to students who had successfully completed secondary school as VCSP beneficiaries. Similar to the application process for secondary school, students wishing to receive scholarships for university needed to meet the same level of academic performance and vulnerability.
Currently four students are receiving scholarships to pursue either a diploma or a bachelor's degree. Two students are attending Makerere University in Kampala and two are attending Gulu University. To ensure the success of these students at the university level, they continue to meet with a mentor who provides support though any personal or academic issues that may arise.
We also recently developed an extracurricular program that looks beyond the classroom. Beginning in fall of 2007, the pilot phase of the sports club initiative will help students form football, volleyball, and netball teams at their schools with other VCSP students. These clubs will meet after classes and allow mentors to interact with their students in a different setting. In addition to these sports clubs, we are also beginning academic clubs that will feature essay writing and debate competitions. Weekend seminars will also be held to encourage the academic performance of scholarship beneficiaries, preparing them for exit examinations and further studies at the university level.
