Learn Box
A missing exercise book should never be the reason a child falls behind.
In Uganda’s urban informal settlements, the barrier between a child and learning is often not the school — it is the materials. A pencil. An exercise book. A ruler. Small things that cost a little and matter enormously.
Learn Box is IMS’s borrow-and-return classroom materials system embedded in partner schools. Children access the supplies they need for a lesson, a day, or a term — without their family needing to buy them that week. Learn Box is being piloted at Kisswa Primary School, Nakawa Division of Kampala City.
How Learn Box Works
The Classroom Is Equipped
Each Learn Box is stocked with age-appropriate materials and placed within a classroom. Depending on the needs of the learners, materials may include:
Exercise books, Pens, Pencils, Geometry, sets, Rulers, Other essential classroom supplies
A Child Borrows What They Need
If a learner runs out of an essential item during a lesson, they can borrow it through a simple register managed by the school.
There is no need for the child to leave the lesson or wait until their family can afford to replace the item.
Materials Stay Available
Where appropriate, borrowed materials are returned after use so that another learner can access them when needed.
This creates a shared classroom resource that remains available when immediate needs arise.
IMS Watches for Patterns
Learn Box is more than a materials system.
IMS monitors borrowing patterns to identify children who repeatedly need support. Frequent borrowing may be an early indication that a household is experiencing financial pressure.
This information can help IMS and school partners identify families that may benefit from PEIS or other forms of support.
Learning Continues
The goal is simple: when a child needs a basic learning item, it should be available when they need it.
No unnecessary interruption. No sitting out of a lesson. No falling behind because of a missing pencil or exercise book.
Learn Box In Numbers (March–June 2026)
Class streams with Learn Box
Borrowing instances recorded
Children accessed materials through Learn Box
Children used Learn Box more than once
Children use the Learn Box three or more times
Why It Matters
Learn Box addresses two needs at the same time.
First, it removes an immediate barrier to learning by making essential classroom materials available when a child needs them.
Second, it generates useful information.
Repeated borrowing can be an early warning sign that something is happening at home. When a child repeatedly depends on the Learn Box over several weeks, IMS can look beyond the missing material and understand whether the family may be facing wider financial challenges.
That creates an opportunity to act early, before a small problem becomes a reason for a child to fall behind or leave school.
Learn Box is therefore part of IMS’s wider approach to dropout prevention: spot the risk early, understand the barrier, and connect the child and family to the right support.
Support Learn Box
Put essential learning materials within reach.
A donation of UGX 380,000, approximately USD 100, can stock one Learn Box for one classroom for one term.
A school sponsorship of UGX 3,800,000, approximately USD 1,000 per term, can fully cover classroom materials for one partner school.
Your support can help ensure that a missing exercise book, pencil, or ruler does not interrupt a child’s opportunity to learn.
