Sparkling Stars Early Learning Centre

Sparkling Stars is set up as a day nursery and a pre-school. I initially had the thought of starting it because I wanted to reach children at a younger age before they reached the streets. So many children wander the streets without parental supervision. They walk with their younger brothers and sisters and friends some at an age of 2-3 years. Many girls are left to carry their baby sister or brother where they will walk and play anywhere. Children are left on busy roads in town to beg at the age of 2 years or maybe younger where they will sit from the early hours of morning to late at night, staying in one place not even playing.

My boys were full of habits and bad behaviour when I first met them which they had learnt from a life on the streets. It is much easier to stop a child being exposed to this life style than to deal with someone who has already been exposed. So I thought in opening a daycare/nursery school I could give a child a place to play and they would be able to be a child instead of living in a place of danger and having to behave like an adult.

As the years have gone on Uganda has become quite an expensive place to live, food, housing, transport, health care has become unaffordable. Things became quite difficult as a family to live, so I decided to make the day care not only to reach the young children who would be at risk but also to use it to help provide for us financially.

I have tried to build the centre at a high standard with good equipment and an enjoyable environment so that I can charge high fees to the affordable parents, then the centre can be self supporting giving free places to children in need and also giving us extra to help my older children and their families in their daily needs.

So far I have 5 paying children on a monthly basis. I also have 7 children who are coming free. I am really hoping to build the centre to a high standard so that it really does attract the paying customers. But my deep hearts desire is to bring those abused children who beg on the streets everyday in the scorching sun, dodging the busy traffic and the the young children who play in the streets in the slums who are exposed to the danger of being abused physically, emotionally and deprived of being a child. May I keep the focus.