Local initiatives

Three partner initiatives are at the centre of our work: from education and farming to schools and a way of funding them that can last.

A child writes in an exercise book with a red pen.
In class

Three groups, three ideas of their own

Behind every initiative are people who want to change something in their neighbourhood: Scovia Mukahirwa and her family, who make school possible for disadvantaged children. A group of smallholder women who have farmed together since 2014. And ARCOS, which has run schools in Gayaza since 1998.

These contacts are older than SOLI itself. Sabine Görg and Charlotte Campbell volunteered with the organisation Beacon of Hope in Uganda in 2013 and 2015. The partnerships SOLI supports today grew out of those encounters.

The idea always comes from the people on the ground. We listen, plan along and organise the means. How we work

Howareyou

The initiative by Scovia Mukahirwa and her family makes school possible for 15 disadvantaged children and young people, and involves their families.

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Balandize Kimeze

A group of mostly women improving their smallholder farming together. Since 2024 chicken rearing is running again after a fresh start.

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ARCOS

Three schools in Gayaza. In 2025/26 a coffee plantation built on permaculture principles was planted with SOLI to stabilise the school finances.

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A woman in an orange shirt stands next to children in school uniforms in front of a school building.
Howareyou: children in the school programme
Women of the group tend chicks inside a brick enclosure.
Balandize Kimeze: chicks in the new enclosure
Pupils in red shirts hoe the soil on a wide field.
ARCOS: pupils preparing the field for the coffee plantation

How the partnerships grew

From the first school in Gayaza to the coffee plantation: the key moments of the three initiatives.

  1. 1998
    ARCOS

    Cornelius Kateregga Bakubanja founds ARCOS and supports orphans and children in need at school.

  2. 2013
    ARCOS

    Sabine Görg meets ARCOS during her volunteer work with Beacon of Hope and learns about the water problems of the schools in Gayaza.

  3. 2013 and 2015
    Howareyou

    Charlotte Campbell and Sabine Görg volunteer with Beacon of Hope and meet Scovia Mukahirwa there.

  4. 2014
    Balandize Kimeze

    Smallholder women form Balandize Kimeze to improve their yields through cooperation and sharing knowledge.

  5. 2014 to 2016
    ARCOS

    With Engineers Without Borders, a rainwater system with two large tanks is built. The walk to the spring two kilometres away is no longer needed.

  6. 2017/18
    ARCOS

    A dining hall with a kitchen, rainwater harvesting and hand-washing basins is built in Gayaza.

  7. 2021
    SOLI Uganda e.V.

    SOLI Uganda e.V. is founded in Berlin. At the end of the year Balandize Kimeze starts its shared chicken rearing with 120 chicks.

  8. 2022
    Balandize Kimeze

    Rising feed prices and an unsuitable location force the group to stop chicken rearing.

  9. 2024
    Balandize Kimeze

    A fresh start with a new enclosure in a more central place, funded by the Hamburg family foundation Hanseperle.

  10. 2025/26
    ARCOS

    With grant applications by SOLI, a coffee plantation built on permaculture principles is planted. Pupils help plant it.

  11. Today
    Howareyou

    Howareyou’s school programme supports 15 children and young people and involves their families.

Beyond that

News & one-off projects

In addition to the ongoing projects we support specific needs: school trips, medical help, studies, or families in an emergency.

See news and urgent needs