Okulaba means “to see”
What we do
Once you see, you know. Once you know, you want to help.
Our mission
Once you see, you know. Once you know, you want to help.
Our mission is to support local educational development so that people can enhance their lives and their communities. We aim at making education more affordable and more accessible in developing countries. It should be the preferred alternative in the equation work versus education.
We achieve our mission by actively supporting projects that are already under way, initiated by local entrepreneurs and activists. This way we use local knowledge to make sure that the help is needed, appropriate and appreciated.
Poverty is not an abstract concept
- 42 %Share of the population living on about $2 a day (World Bank, 2017)
- 64Life expectancy in years — in Germany it is 81
- 16Median age in Uganda — in Germany it is 48
Poverty and lack of education are real for the majority in developing countries like Uganda. Expressed in numbers: 42 % of the population live on approximately $2 a day (World Bank, 2017), and life expectancy is 64 years compared with 81 in Germany. But numbers don’t do justice to a reality where life means a daily fight to put food on the table. After hunger, education is of major long-term importance.
The median age of Ugandans is 16 years, against 48 in Germany. Ugandan mothers have on average 5.5 children, one of the highest fertility rates in the world (Germany: 1.6). Children are often used as farm workers and many do not go to school. Sending a child to school means losing a worker and incurs cost for school fees, uniforms and books.
At the same time, going to school — learning to read, write and calculate — is the only chance of securing one of the sought-after better jobs as a shop attendant or clerk. In this dilemma, losing a worker against the dim hope of a better job, many families opt for the short-term solution and keep their children in work to provide food for the family.
Okulaba e.V.
Okulaba e.V. was founded in 2022 by Sophie Kamama and Frank Busch together with five further founding members. The association is registered at the Amtsgericht München and has been granted non-profit charity status by the German financial authorities. Donations are tax-deductible.
Please support our work by donating, or by helping in any other way that you can.
Why schooling matters so much
Education is the only long-term way out of poverty. Food and survival come first, of course. After that, an investment in education means children grow up with a higher chance of getting better paid jobs — and better paid jobs mean less need for children to work in the fields.