Every child who stays in school has people behind them who noticed, listened, and chose to act.
At Initiative for Mtoto wa Shule, volunteers help turn that commitment into action. Whether you bring experience in education, monitoring and evaluation, communications, finance, technology, or community work, your skills can help IMS reach more children, strengthen our programmes, and build better ways of preventing school dropout.
You do not have to have all the answers. You just need to be willing to contribute, learn, and work alongside communities.
Help schools identify and support children at risk.
Dropout Prevention Fellows are trained young practitioners who work directly in IMS partner schools. Fellows support the SUCCESS Model by identifying children at risk of dropping out, helping develop individual support plans, monitoring retention, and connecting families to PEIS and other available support.
Location: Kampala-based
Help families build a plan for their children’s education.
PEIS Group Facilitators support the formation and early development of Parents Education Investment Scheme groups. You will help parents understand the model, organise into groups, establish their savings plans, and build the structures they need to finance their children’s education together.
Help us turn programme activity into evidence.
M&E volunteers support the systems that help IMS understand what is working and where improvements are needed. This can include data collection, data entry, field monitoring, documentation, and supporting the quality of programme information.
Help more people see the work and the people behind it.
Good stories help communities, partners, and supporters understand why this work matters. Communications volunteers can contribute through photography, writing, social media, storytelling, and other communication activities that help IMS document and share its work.
Help build the systems behind the mission.
Strong programmes need strong systems. Finance and administration volunteers support IMS with financial processes, office systems, documentation, organisation, and other administrative tasks that help the organisation operate responsibly and effectively.
Use technology to strengthen our work.
If you have skills in website development, IT, digital systems, or related technical areas, you can help IMS improve the tools and systems that support its programmes, communications, and day-to-day operations.
Bring your skills. Learn from the community. Contribute to lasting work.
IMS welcomes short-term and long-term international volunteers and interns with relevant skills and a genuine interest in contributing to community-led education work.
International opportunities can be shaped around your skills and IMS’s current needs. Accommodation and in-country support are discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Volunteering with IMS is more than filling a role. It means becoming part of work focused on keeping children in school and creating pathways for those who have already left.
You will have the opportunity to work alongside IMS staff, schools, families, and communities while gaining practical experience and contributing to programmes that are being tested, measured, and developed for wider use.
We value volunteers who are responsible, respectful, willing to learn, and committed to working with communities rather than simply working for them.
Children and communities must always be treated with dignity, respect, and care.
Before engaging with children or communities, all IMS volunteers undergo orientation and safeguarding training and are required to sign the IMS Code of Conduct. These requirements help ensure that everyone involved in our work understands their responsibilities and contributes to a safe environment.
If you are interested in volunteering, tell us about yourself, the skills you can contribute, and the kind of work you would like to support.
