Latest news

In early 2026, prolonged drought in Uganda’s arid Karamoja region wiped out over 90% of community vegetable gardens, triggering acute food insecurity. This November, every donation to Children on the Edge will be doubled to drill and repair 11 community-managed boreholes placed directly alongside local growers. These permanent water points can revive food production, will be maintained by trained local committees and are designed to protect 7,700 people from future climate shocks.

Children on the Edge is replicating our proven Cluster Learning Model in Karamoja, Uganda, to address critical gaps in early childhood education. We are adapting the model for communities in Karamoja, Uganda's poorest and most remote region. Only 10% of children here have access to Early Childhood Education, leaving thousands without foundational support during the most critical stage of their development.

In the last 12 months, Child Protection Teams in Karamoja have helped over 6,450 children in their communities. From stopping incidents of trafficking and exploitation to supporting parents with safer ways to raise their children.

In Uganda’s Karamoja region, where over 74% of residents live in poverty, 12-year-old Ngorok Nivea has joined the fight against child exploitation. After escaping street work in Kampala, Nivea joined a Child Rights Club supported by her local Child Protection Team. Today, she is enrolled in school and uses her story to campaign for other children to stay safe from trafficking and thrive in their education.

To celebrate World Teachers' Day, educator voices in Kutupalong refugee camp highlight how Rohingya refugees are reclaiming their classrooms through mother-tongue learning. We hear how teaching in their own language reduces lesson anxiety, makes room for rich storytelling, and boosts attendance - reflecting a wider programme that is restoring confidence, culture, and literacy to over 4,000 children.

Families in Karamoja, Uganda, are facing severe drought that has destroyed over 90% of local vegetable gardens and cut off vital income for school fees. Children on the Edge is raising funds this November to drill community-managed boreholes, helping parents replant their crops, restore lost income, and keep children safe.

We are pleased to share some great news from our home town. The University of Chichester has awarded our CEO and Co-founder, Rachel Bentley OBE, an Honorary Doctorate of Education. Since 1990, Rachel has led Children on the Edge, an international child rights organisation based right here in Chichester. This recognition reflects over three decades of work defending the rights of marginalised children and creating access to education in some of the toughest environments in the world.

After a decade in displacement camps, families returning to their villages in the Kachin region are taking the lead. In their own words, children, parents and teachers share how they are carrying early learning models back home. They are rebuilding classrooms piece by piece, setting up learning centres for as few as two toddlers, and ensuring their youngest thrive as communities start fresh.

In 2025–2026, Children on the Edge demonstrated that even in the toughest environments, investing in local people creates sustainable change. We have tested, refined, and used low-cost interventions on the margins, always sharing them openly so governments and international bodies can scale them where they are most needed.

As we prepared to introduce Early Childhood Education in Karamoja with our community-led cluster learning model, we needed to find ways to make our play-based learning accessible for all and utilised AI to help. However, we soon realised that AI didn’t have the functionality we needed, and in this situation a human touch was still best!

Wardah Yusuf, Early Years Specialist with Children on the Edge Africa, reflects on her first visit to Karamoja - one of Uganda’s poorest regions. After years of developing child-led, play-based education in Kyaka II, she and her team are introducing their innovative ‘cluster learning’ model to remote rural communities.

The Rohingya Zoban mobile app has officially launched within the world's largest refugee camp, designed to help users learn the Rohingya language from anywhere in the world.