Our impact
Together we work towards a sustainable impact
Education is the best weapon to break the vicious circle of poverty.
Through the Join for Joy programme we give primary school teachers in rural East Africa the tools to make school more fun, more attractive and safer for children. School becomes a place where children are treated equally, where they can discover and develop their talents, and where they work on their resilience and their future while they play.
Join for Joy also supports rural communities by training teachers to raise and discuss subjects that carry a taboo, such as child marriage, teenage pregnancy, menstruation and disease prevention, with children and community members. Our focus on knowledge transfer creates a change that lasts for generations.
Since 2011
- 900+ teachers trained
- 725,000+ children playing at school and in their communities
- 223 schools in the programme
Totals since our first sports camps in 2011. The figures on our homepage cover the 2025 programme year.
What changes in a school
Teachers, head teachers and parents report the same twelve changes, year after year, in the schools where the programme runs.
- More children to school and fewer dropouts
- Resilient children
- Inclusive school system
- Equal opportunities for girls and boys
- Improved focus
- More energetic children
- Developed talents
- Awareness of social themes
- Children sexually active at a later age
- Fewer teenage pregnancies
- Enhanced school performance
- A safe learning environment
Three children, three changes
Children under eighteen appear here without their name, their age and their photograph, in line with our safeguarding policy.
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Elifas (20)
Started primary school this year after hearing about the sports and play activities.
Elifas’ primary school joined the Join for Joy programme at the start of 2022. Elifas had never been to school. After hearing about the sports and play activities through his friends, he took a brave step and decided to start school after all. He is happy to be learning to read and write, and he enjoys the sports programme a great deal.
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A girl in the programme
Back at school after her pregnancy, thanks to a safe and inclusive learning environment.
She became pregnant during the first corona lockdown and was determined to return to school after giving birth. Thanks to the Join for Joy programme her teachers knew how to create a safe and inclusive environment for her, and they persuaded her mother to let her come back. That is rare. Many girls who fall pregnant are married off and leave school for good. She is now working on a positive future for herself and her daughter.
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A boy in the programme
Finally feels part of his community.
He has autism, and for years his disability kept him out of PE. His teachers wanted to involve him and simply did not know how. Thanks to the Join for Joy programme they now know how to bring children with a disability into their own strength by making small adjustments to the games. He and his teachers look at what is possible instead of what is not. He plays along with his classmates at last and feels accepted, and for the first time he experiences being a full member of his community.
Playful education changes children’s lives
Six short films show what that looks like in the classroom, in the teachers’ own words and in the children’s.
Watch our videosWho makes this possible
The programme runs on local partners in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Malawi, and on supporters who commit to it for the long term.
Supporters & partners