Who we are

Shelter Wakadogo in Gulu, Uganda, has flourished from a school with only two classrooms founded in the wake of war to now educating over 477 girls and boys with one of the highest student retention rates in the country. Its commitment to providing free school meals, healthcare and a quality education for the surrounding community has seen the school become a second home for many. Project Shelter Wakadogo is a pre-primary and primary not-for-profit school located in Gulu District in Uganda, and is a registered charity in the UK, Canada and Uganda.

The name 'Wakadogo' translates to 'for the little ones' in Swahili. The charity was founded in 2005 when northern Uganda was emerging from 23 years of civil war. During the war, 40,000 children were abducted to serve as child soldiers or, in the case of girls, “wives” to other soldiers. 1.7 million people were displaced and over 100,000 people abducted or mutilated by the Lord's Resistance Army.

Wakadogo School, the first school in Acoyo village, opened its doors in 2009 to educate some of the most marginalised children. Wakadogo's vision is to educate a new generation of children in northern Uganda by providing a quality education that enables them to shape a prosperous future for themselves. They believe that education is the most powerful and effective way to change lives.