Early Steps Program

ESP builds on the District Well-being Project, a pilot launched in February 2012 in partnership with the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF), with PSFU as grants administrator and project coordinator. This project's main activities involve the establishment of:

• "Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs): to increase household incomes; so that parents are able to meet the basic needs of their children like feeding, school fees and medical bills.
• Cooperative Care Groups (CCGs): to provide a safe, stimulating and learning environment for children to play and learn so as to build their social relations, language, reading and writing skills.
• Responsive Fatherhood Clubs (RFCs): to address issues of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect and sensitize the community on good parenting practices."

ESP continues with these activities. However, the main strategic focus of the programme was re-designed to encourage companies and business leaders to invest in young children either through corporate social responsibility (CSR), family-friendly policies in the workplace, or adding their voice to the advocacy agenda of PSFU. "PSFU is now focused on intensifying its advocacy agenda with champions to take more concrete action either within their own companies to adopt CSR initiatives that benefit young children or introduce child friendly policies at work place. PSFU has also embarked on aggressive outreach to attract more business companies to sign up for partnership in support of early childhood development."

The programme activities have the following key objectives:

• "Sensitize the business community on the linkage between early child hood and work force productivity.
• Create awareness on the economic benefits of investing in young children.
• Identify champions for young children amongst Uganda’s business community.
• Build capacity of business leaders to understand the basic facts about early child hood development.
• Attract partnerships from business community in support of PSFU advocacy work."

To gather evidence and to make the case for ECD, the programme is conducting research on the linkage between investment in young children, as well as the development of the Ugandan work force and projected private and public savings. "The research findings shall be instrumental in providing facts to influence policy direction and budget to early childhood sectors in Uganda."

The programme also organises annual business leaders' awards for the best young children's advocate.

In addition, PSFU has convened several business leaders' forums. For example, in October 2014, PSFU, in partnership with ReadyNation, convened a National Business Leaders Forum on Early Childhood Investment. The speakers at the forum detailed why supporting ECD is critical for Uganda's businesses and the economy. PSFU also established a Partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Uganda under the #InvestinUgChildren campaign, resulting in the launch of the Children Rights and Business Principles "that attracted over 300 top business executives and 200 private sector influencers." Events have also been hosted to engage with parents.

PSFU notes that by engaging with the National Planning Authority, ECD has been included for the first time in the draft national development plan. In collaboration with Save the Children and Uganda Debt Network, PSFU is also advocating for the inclusion of children in the planning and budgetary process.

Children, Education

According to PSFU, both the District Well-being pilot and the redesigned Early Steps Program have shown significant gains. "During the first year of project over 250 Village Savings and Loan Associations were established with a total of about Ushs 800 million mobilized from savings. This provided an opportunity for mainly women owned and needy households with young children to access resources for health care, education and also enhanced food security."

In addition, "over 46 business companies and civic organizations have signed up to be champions of the program and are working with PSFU in several ways to improve the wellbeing of young children."