<p>Early childhood care and education in Uganda is driven by a strong popular demand but is provided inequitably, and is inaccessible to many families, because the Government does not fund this level of education and leaves provision to a range of non-government providers, all of whom charge fees to parents. In this context some local communities manage to organise their own preschools on a humanitarian basis, making them affordable to the poorer families as far as possible. This article reports on qualitative case studies of four such preschools, in Oyam and Tororo Districts, as examples of ‘third-sector’, civil society initiatives. The research illustrates the achievements and limitations of these preschools in relation to community control, social accessibility, staffing and physical resources, professional practices, and external inputs and linkages. The methods used include interviews with a range of stakeholders, a grounded analysis of institutional and household costs, and direct, systematic observation of a school day at each preschool. The findings show the four examples as being partially successful in different ways but facing severe challenges too. Provision for children’s health and safety was insufficient in the rural examples because of poverty and inadequate resources. In formal terms, the examples in Oyam District had more adequate human and material resources for learning. But the examples in Tororo District, with volunteer teachers, were more affordable to poor households and showed more creative pedagogy. The scarcity of learning materials, however, severely constrained their achievements. Overall the community-based approach had made substantial progress, against the odds, supporting the view that, for the future, partnerships between the third sector and the public sector could provide an equitable and effective service.</p>