Over 300 children, 12 teachers and a new school building: this is how Get It Done’s day school by Lake Victoria works.
Run entirely by volunteers · 100% of your donation goes to the children
In short: Get It Done does not support just any school – it runs one itself: the day school in Bwembe on Lake Victoria, Uganda, from nursery to middle school. Over 300 children learn there with 12 teachers, and there is also the charity’s own vocational and Bible school. Your donation pays for teachers’ salaries, school supplies and more classrooms.
Officially, yes: since 1997 state primary school in Uganda has been free of fees under the “Universal Primary Education” programme. In practice families still pay – for uniforms, exercise books, exams and often lunch. On an income of a few euros a day that is too much for many. That is exactly why so many children drop out of school.
Uganda’s school system follows a 7–4–2 pattern that dates back to British colonial times. Each stage ends with a national exam that decides the next step. From the middle years onwards, lessons are taught in English.
Stages of the school system in Uganda (7–4–2) with the final exam of each stage
Get It Done’s day school runs from nursery through primary to middle school. The goal: every child should be able to read, write and do maths by the age of 18 and then start vocational training – for example at the charity’s own vocational and Bible school, a ten-minute walk away. The 12 teachers are Christians and teach the faith alongside the normal subjects.
Because it is a day school, the children in Bwembe also get fed. Much of the food grows on the charity’s own fields: maize, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, cassava and, since 2026, rice. Since November 2025 the cooking has been done on a new stove that needs only half as much firewood.
For a long time, lessons in Bwembe took place in two large huts with tin roofs and under a big tree. In 2024 toilets for over 200 children and school desks were added, later also home-made ones. In October 2025 work began on a solid 163 m² school building – partly because a government inspector had threatened to close the school over its unsafe classrooms. The roof went on in December 2025, windows and doors in April 2026. As of April 2026 the floors are still missing.
New school building, 163 m² – as of April 2026
“We thought we would just make a start. Brick by brick, to lay the foundations of our vision.”
Teachers’ salaries are the school’s most important running cost in Bwembe. They are paid from donations, a good part of them through donors’ standing orders. In September 2026, €100 a month is still missing to cover all salaries reliably. Since 2026 there has also been a teachers’ house on site – the charity saves the rent, and the teachers can look after the children directly.
A standing order helps most because it makes the teachers’ salaries predictable. One-off donations go into school supplies, uniforms and finishing the school building. Companies can help through corporate donations. And if you are a teacher: the worksheet below explains school in Uganda for use in class – write to us at office@verein-getitdone.org if your class would like to run a fundraiser.
Worksheet: school in Uganda – for use in class
PDF, 2 pages · with questions comparing Uganda and your own country
State primary school has officially been free since 1997. But extra costs for uniforms, materials, exams and food remain, and many families cannot manage them.
In state primary schools there are often 70 to over 100 children in one room.
In the first years of school often in the local language, and from the middle years at the latest in English.
Yes. State inspectors check the school. In October 2025 a government inspector demanded progress on the solid school building – building has been going on ever since.
No. Get It Done is not registered as a tax-privileged charity with the Austrian Ministry of Finance.
Gladly. The worksheet on this page is a good way into the topic. For a class fundraiser, write to us at office@verein-getitdone.org.
Responsible: Bernd Broschek, chairman of Verein Get It Done · last checked: 23 September 2026
Questions? Write to office@verein-getitdone.org
IBAN AT96 3632 2000 0018 9563 · BIC RZTIAT22322
Payment reference: School · All ways to donate
