Every child in Uganda has the right to an education, to be heard, and to be protected from harm. Those rights are written into law — but for many children, they have never been spoken aloud in a classroom. That gap is where FGI does some of its most important work.
Our Rights in the Classroom programme partners with teachers to make child rights part of everyday school life, not a once-a-year topic.
Starting with the teachers
Before a single lesson is taught, FGI facilitators run multi-day trainings with school staff. Teachers practise listening without judgment, identifying warning signs of abuse or neglect, and building classroom rules together with their pupils.
Lessons children recognise
The student-facing work is deliberately practical. Children learn:
- their right to a name, identity, and family,
- their right to education, health, and a safe environment,
- the difference between secrets a child should never keep, and
- how to report a concern to a trusted adult or school welfare teacher.
Role-play and storytelling do most of the teaching. A child who has practised saying “I have the right to say no” in a safe room is far better able to say it in a difficult one.
Measuring more than attendance
Participating schools report fewer unexplained absences, more children approaching welfare staff with concerns, and pupils who can name their rights without prompting.
"The children now hold us accountable," one teacher said with a smile. "And they are right to."
Child rights are not a handout. They are a shared practice — and classrooms are where the practice begins.