When children lack basic reading, writing and math skills, their futures are limited.
We create schools, programs and communities around the common goal of education for all.
Here’s how we do it:
Identify Local Partners
IREAD works in partnership with local community leaders and NGOs such as Rotary Clubs (in Uganda) and Aga Khan Education Services, Aga Khan University-Institute of Educational Development (AKU-IED), and Professional Development Centre Chitral (PDCC) (in Pakistan). In Uganda, Rotary and IREAD field teams identify villages that demonstrate a demographic need for early childhood development (ECD); are willing to help build, operate and manage an ECD centre; and have land that can be donated for an IREAD ECD Centre. In Pakistan, AKES,P operates IREAD ECD Centres and, IREAD collaborates with AKU-IED and PDCC to offer early education in community spaces in villages where the demographics don’t support building an ECD centre.
School Construction
Once a village is selected, an agreement is signed with the community specifying the amount of locally available materials and unskilled labour it will provide for the construction. This ensures that costs are contained and that the community is engaged and feels a sense of ownership. IREAD provides the services of an architect, engineer, stonemason, carpenter, plumber and other skilled labour, as well as all construction materials, and furnishes and equips the ECD Centres.
Quality Education,
Well-Trained Teachers
Local community members are recruited and trained as ECD teachers and caregivers. IREAD provides Ugandan teachers with their initial training and ongoing professional development. Our Uganda centres are certified and registered with the Ministry of Education and Sports and follow the national ECD curriculum. Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan trains IREAD ECD centre teachers in their curriculum and operates many of the IREAD centres, and Professional Development Centre Chitral trains teachers in the community-based initiative.
Empower Local Communities
A village-led Centre Management Committee (CMC) is established in each village that hosts an IREAD ECD centre. In Uganda, the CMC operates and maintains the IREAD ECD Centre with the support of the IREAD field team. School fees paid to CMCs by parents go toward paying the teachers, learning materials and supplies, maintaining and securing the ECD centres, providing daily meals, and other incidental costs. IREAD program managers regularly visit our Uganda IREAD centres to monitor and evaluate the delivery of the program and to support the management of the centres.
Ongoing Support
Most parents are subsistence farmers and drought, heavy rains, low market prices, and other misfortunes often leave them unable to pay school fees. IREAD facilitates opportunities for families to generate income (for example we recently introduced organic chia growing to certain Uganda villages) and fundraises to help CMCs fill the gaps when necessary.
Our 100% Promise
A private family foundation pays for IREAD's administrative costs, so every dollar you give goes toward supporting IREAD students, teachers, and ECD Centres. You can be confident that your gift will go directly to the children who need it most.
“The Jaffer Foundation has created an endowment that will continue to contribute annually to agencies that deliver well-conceived ECD to children in the developing world. This legacy funding will see IREAD continue its activities for many years to come by using these endowment funds for administrative costs”
– Dr. Noor Jaffer
Our Partners
We partner with rural communities and local NGOs to make education accessible.
We’re proudly partnered with the following organizations:
The Aga Khan Education Service, Pakistan (AKESP)
The Aga Khan University’s Professional Development Centre in Chitral (PDCC)
The Aga Khan University - Institute for Educational Development (IED)
Rotary Club of Kampala Day Break and other local Rotary Clubs
Church of Uganda
Kingdom of Buganda
“Uganda is our home. This is the country of our birth and it is where our hopes and dreams began. This country is never far from our thoughts and what better way to show our love than through a powerful gift of education, starting with the children.
IREAD allowed us to show our love and gratitude. The IREAD organization was transparent and kept us informed as the Mary’s Shining Stars ECD Centre was being constructed and the field team’s knowledge and ability to work with local partners made sure the community felt empowered every step of the way.
Working with IREAD and supporting Uganda’s children was the perfect way to help us make sure curiosity can bloom, confidence can soar and positive changes can take root for the children and their families. It is the start that all children should have.
We feel grateful and blessed to show our love for Uganda, starting with the children.”
Naju and Mary Lalji
Vancouver, Canada
Donors of Mary's Shining Stars ECD Centre, Lobule, Uganda