Uganda hosts over 1.9million refugees, making it Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country. In Palabek Refugee Settlement alone 90,000 refugees, of whom 83% women and children, face challenges in accessing education and protection services. Today, Save the Children is launching “Strengthening education and child protection services for refugee children in Palabek Settlement, Northern Uganda”, a two-year project in partnership with a Japanese clothing brand UNIQLO/Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. The project is supported through UNIQLO’s PEACE FOR ALL global campaign.
The project runs from November 2025 to October 2027, targeting 9,130 people directly and reaching 58,000 indirectly. The intervention integrates education and child protection to ensure that children in Palabek can learn and grow, in safe, inclusive environments.
“Every child deserves the right to learn and live free from harm. Through this project, we are creating safe classrooms, training teachers, and building community-led protection systems that will last beyond the project,” says Martha Ddambya, the Acting Country Director, Save the Children Uganda.
Why this project matters:
Education gaps: Only 51% of primary school-age children in Palabek are enrolled in school. Learning is hindered by overcrowded classrooms, high pupil teacher ratios and a lack of teaching and learning materials. Some lessons are held outdoors due to lack of space; children are sent home when it rains.
Protection risks: Nearly 3,200 children in Palabek have already been identified as needing protection support – including unaccompanied and separated children, those heading households and survivors of abuse or neglect – but around 70% of them have not yet received any form of support.
What will the project do?
Deliver Accelerated Education Programmes (AEP) for over-age and out-of-school children.
Support improvements in literacy through catch up programmes
Provide case management and referral services for children facing violence, neglect, family separation or engaged in child labour.
Strengthen community child protection structures so they can spot risks early and link children to support.
Make schools safer by training school leaders and parent teacher associations on safeguarding and setting up clear ways for children to report concerns.
The project also promotes gender equality, addresses risks specific to girls, and aligns with SDGs 4, 5, 10, and 16.2 which aim at ensuring quality education, ending violence against children, and reducing inequalities.
About PEACE FOR ALL
The PEACE FOR ALL features T-shirts with designs expressing a wish for peace, provided voluntarily by collaborators with close ties to UNIQLO who share the goal of "taking action with a desire for world peace”. All profits from the T-shirt sales are donated to international humanitarian organisations that support people affected by violence, discrimination, armed conflict and poverty, including Save the Children, UNHCR and Plan International. Since its launch in June 2022, PEACE FOR ALL has raised millions of dollars to protect the lives of displaced people around the world, and to aid children who are facing difficult circumstances due to conflicts or other issues.
