The context: the need and the challenge
In rural areas of Uganda such as Nabikabala, access to high-quality education remains severely limited. Widespread poverty means that around 45% of children leave school before completing their basic education.
Schools are often overcrowded, built with unsuitable materials, and lacking essential services such as safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, spaces for creative learning, and access to healthcare. Families face acute economic and social vulnerability, and the school is often the only educational and community resource available to them.
African SOUP, ABF’s local partner, has supported more than 900 children and 170 families through innovative education programmes for many years. However, the existing facilities can no longer meet the community’s growing needs. Dormitories accommodate up to 80 students per room, teaching spaces are inadequate, and there are no dedicated areas for art, music, sport, or social and emotional learning – all essential to a child’s well-rounded development.
This reality demands more than just better buildings; it requires a completely transformed campus: a safe, welcoming place where children can learn, grow, and thrive.
ABF’s response
Andrea Bocelli Foundation is redeveloping and expanding the campus, combining modern infrastructure, educational innovation, and essential services. The goal is to create a campus that serves as a beacon for the entire region: a place where children can learn safely, families can find support, and the community can grow together.
ABF is working closely with African SOUP, local institutions, and an international multidisciplinary team to design functional, sustainable spaces that support active learning. The project goes far beyond constructing new buildings: it introduces an educational model that can be replicated elsewhere, rooted in art, music, drama, social and emotional learning, and community participation.
Why it matters
- School facilities are structurally inadequate and lack suitable sanitation and digital infrastructure.
- Dormitories are overcrowded, with up to 80 students in each room.
- There are no dedicated spaces for art, music, sport, or social and emotional learning.
- The school has no clinic or adequate healthcare services.
- There is a need for an educational model that can be replicated nationwide.
The project
- Partners: African SOUP, ABF’s multidisciplinary team, and local institutions.
- Key activities: constructing new facilities, deploying digital infrastructure, establishing a school clinic, and delivering innovative education programmes.
Project phases
- Phase 1 – 2025-2026: central agora, clinic, water towers, sanitation facilities, and an Art, Music, and Drama Pavilion.
- Phase 2 : library, IT labs, teachers’ offices, primary school facilities, and kitchen.
- Phase 3 : nursery school, dormitories, and guest house.
