August 8, 2012 President Clinton and his daughter Chelsea visited the Building Tomorrow Academy of Gita on July 20, 2012. The Academy of Gita was funded and designed [...]
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BT Academy of Gita
The BT Academy of Gita, supported by the University of Virginia, opened on Friday, August 6, 2010!
supported by The University of Virginia
KAMPALA (18 August 2010)—Hundreds of parents, families, students and prominent local leaders joined in a seven-hour chorus of celebration commemorating the grand opening of the Building Tomorrow (BT) Academy of Gita supported by the University of Virginia (U.Va.). The Academy’s nearly 200 students headlined a song and dance marathon that lasted well in to the evening to show their appreciation and excitement for the opportunity to learn inside a permanent classroom.
“You have cleared the land, you have carried materials, you have filled jerry cans of water, you have planted kassava and you have made this site your own,” Building Tomorrow Uganda Director Joseph Kalisa said. “Your work has just begun, now it is time to support the students who will sit, study and prosper because of these classrooms.”
Area leaders and officials praised the commitment of parents and U. Va. for their outreach to the community.
“We are grateful for what has to be one of Waksio District’s best built primary schools,” headmaster M. Zizinga Ssemuyaga said. “We are excited for all that is to come here and hope that the parents of these children and local leaders will support us moving forward.”
The BT Academy of Gita is the result of Building Tomorrow’s first multidisciplinary collaboration on a college campus. Throughout the 2007-2008 school year, undergraduate architecture and engineering students in Architecture Studio reCOVER and the Engineering in Context Capstone Design Program crafted a design for a new ten-room school house, funded by the student chapter of BT at U.Va. and the School of Architecture. The Academy is the fifth opened by BT in Uganda with another five Academies slated to open in the next year.
“It is so awesome to see the Academy open and come to fruition,” U.Va. alum (’10) and former Vice President of Fundraising at the university’s BT chapter Liz Braden said. “To know that the University of Virginia community puts a roof over the heads of hundreds of students each day is nothing short of incredible.”
Over the last four years, more than 2,000 students and community members have participated in BT-sponsored events, including Bike to Uganda, a 7,500-mile bike ride on the Lawn held each Spring. Through these and other events, more than $50,000 has been raised in support of the BT Academy of Gita.
In March, the BT Academy of Gita was honored with the American Institute of Architects Education Honor Award and highlighted at the Spring 2010 meeting of the Association of Collegiate Architecture Schools.
Blog Roll
July 16, 2012 President Clinton to Visit Building Tomorrow Academy of Gita
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Visit reinforces commitment to provide access to quality education in 60 academies by 2016
INDIANAPOLIS — On Friday, July 20, Building Tomorrow – a social-profit organization [...]
June 8, 2012 I’m an idiot.
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Last week, our very own Financial Optimist, Liz Braden, traveled to Uganda with BT for the first time to check on our academies and put [...]
October 21, 2011 Gita – The Whole Story
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In the fall of 2005, Jason Franasiak, recent graduate of the College of William & Mary, enrolled in the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine. [...]
July 18, 2011 Meet George and Edith
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In Uganda, one child’s education is a community affair. Today we’d like to introduce two incredible and inspiring teens who have committed themselves to providing [...]
July 1, 2011 You Are What You Wear
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People and societies are deliberate in choosing how to dress themselves, because clothes fill more than one role. They protect us from our environments, decorate [...]
June 20, 2011 The Beautiful Game in Uganda
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Athletic competition is an important part of most cultures worldwide. The popularity of such events as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup testify to [...]
March 8, 2011
Photo of the week: Gertrude
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Gertrude Nanugga has lived in Gita, Uganda her whole life. She has seven children and eight grandchildren. While she only went to school through P3, [...]
August 25, 2010
BT Academy of Gita, supported by U.Va., opens
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KAMPALA (18 August 2010)—Hundreds of parents, families, students and prominent local leaders joined in a seven-hour chorus of celebration commemorating the grand opening of the [...]
March 16, 2010
Studio reCOVER – Gita Primary School Wins The American Institute of Architects Education Honor Award
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(view original article online @ http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/AIAB082418)
2010 AIA Education Honor Awards Program
Studio reCOVER – Gita Primary School
The American Institute of Architects announces the Education Honor Awards [...]
October 12, 2009
Students Return from Uganda with Renewed Enthusiasm for BT
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A delegation of 11 undergraduate students and four adults recently returned from a two week trip to Uganda, the first of three BT teams to [...]
Vice President of Uganda Endorses Building Tomorrow
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KAMPALA, UGANDA–On the eve of the groundbreaking for the Building Tomorrow (BT) Academy of Gita, His Excellency the Vice President of Uganda, Prof. Gilbert B. [...]
Construction Begins for Building Tomorrow Academy of Gita
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GITA, UGANDA—To the beat of native drums, Building Tomorrow (BT) and the village community of Gita, Uganda celebrated the groundbreaking of the BT Academy of [...]
March 18, 2009
Tech races UVa to Uganda in charity event
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(view original article online at http://bit.ly/KZx8P)
by Ryan Trapp, CT news staff writer
Source: CollegiateTimes.com
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Virginia Tech is holding its first ever Bike to Uganda [...]
October 23, 2008
With Support From U.Va., Construction Begins on New School in Uganda
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(view original article online at http://bit.ly/QL0Dr)
by: Jane Ford
Source: UVA Today
October 23, 2008 — To the beat of native drums, Building Tomorrow and the village of [...]
October 24, 2007
U.Va. groups design new school for Gita, Uganda
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(view original article online at http://bit.ly/ucwhY)
Fundraising, design efforts culminate in groundbreaking ceremony last week in Gita
Prateek Vasireddy, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer
Source: The Cavalier Daily
October 24, [...]
