Children on the Edge Africa

Children on the Edge Africa partners with communities to create enabling environments where children are safe, healthy, protected, learning, and able to thrive.

Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up safe, supported, and able to thrive. Yet, across underserved communities in Uganda, many children continue to live on the edge, facing barriers to protection, quality learning, participation, and healthy development that hinder their ability to reach their full potential.

Our Vision: At Children on the Edge Africa (COTEA), we envision a developed society that protects and upholds children’s rights and cares deeply for them.

Our Mission: We work with communities on the edge to create environments where children can thrive.

OUR FOCUS

Early Childhood Education

Promoting access to quality, play-based learning and strengthening caregiver engagement to support children’s early development.

Child Protection

Strengthening family and community systems to prevent abuse, neglect, exploitation, and promote children’s safety and wellbeing.

Child Participation

Creating safe spaces for children to understand their rights, express themselves, and meaningfully participate in decisions affecting their lives.

Community Leadership

Empowering communities, including women, youth, and local leaders, to drive child-focused change and take ownership of development initiatives.

Advocacy

Influencing policies, systems, and practices that strengthen child protection and uphold children’s rights.

Sustainable change

Building strong community systems and local ownership to ensure lasting improvements in children’s wellbeing.

OUR MODELS

Cluster Learning Model

The Cluster Learning Programme is a cost-effective, replicable, scalable solution that ensures access to Early Childhood Education for thousands of Congolese refugee children in the Kyaka II refugee settlement in Uganda.

Child Protection Teams

For over a decade, Child Protection Teams, set up, trained and supported by Children on the Edge, have been working to transform marginalised communities in Uganda.

Assessment for Play-based Early Childhood Development

The Assessment for Play-based Early Childhood Development, co-created by Children on the Edge, Learn to Play Botswana and the University of Chichester, is designed to help early years programmes see what’s going well, what could be improved, and how to make learning through play even better for every child.

OUR IMPACT

9,368+

children reached through Early Childhood Education since 2021

121

Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) currently established, strengthening community resilience

41

community-managed Early Childhood Education learning hubs operational

OUR PROGRAMMES

Education for Congolese Refugees in Uganda

Children on the Edge Africa support local communities in Uganda to provide Early Childhood Education for thousands of young Congolese refugee children.

Protecting Children in Karamoja, Uganda

Endemic poverty in the remote Karamoja region of north eastern Uganda puts children at risk of abuse, trafficking, neglect and exploitation. Children on the Edge support local people here to transform their communities into safe places, where children are protected from harm and able to live, play, learn and grow.

Protecting Children in Jinja, Uganda

We work with marginalised communities in the suburbs of Jinja to transform them into safe spaces for children to live, play, learn and grow.

WHO WE ARE

Founded in 2015, COTEA is a Non-Governmental Organisation working with communities in Uganda to improve the wellbeing and opportunities of children.

Our dedicated team collaborates and innovates with local communities to strengthen care, learning, participation, and systems that enable children to grow, develop, and realise their full potential.

OUR NEWS

Our part in shaping and launching Uganda's 2025 Early Childhood Education Policy

After many years developing the play-based elements of our early childhood education programme in Kyaka II refugee settlement, Uganda, our team were delighted to be asked to contribute to the government’s new policy with suggestions on play-based learning.

Inspiring his community in Karamoja - Meet Edrine

From training with Children on the Edge to establishing local Child Protection Teams in his home district of Karamoja, Edrine’s story is a powerful example of how community-led initiatives create lasting change from the ground up.

Ending Child Sacrifice: The Inside Story of the Five Year Fight to Change the Law in Uganda

We share the inside story of the fight to change the law in Uganda. After five years of civil society campaigning, The Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Act 2021 was officially signed into law on the 14th July 2021.

Four-year-old Deborah Uwase, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, lives in Kyaka II refugee settlement. Deborah's mother Aline, told us that, since joining cluster learning, she has become confident interacting with peers and adults, assists with household chores, and has developed a love for numbers, counting everything she sees.

With Deborah safely learning, Aline can work and manage daily chores. Aline has also joined a local savings group that meets in her home. This has built unity among local parents and helped Aline feel connected to her community. A savings share-out also gave her the funds needed to cover household expenses.

This story shows how community-led early childhood education can help refugee children not only learn, but also feel safe, included, and supported to thrive.