name esther nakungu age 6 school the bt academy of gita location gita, uganda

---

about esther

Esther’s mother, Hariyet, only went to school through P4 (4th grade). She is a single mother of six and, although she has no job, she has managed to save the occasional $2 she earns working on a farm to pay the $90 in school fees at the primary school her children currently attend.

During the summer of 2008, BT gave a presentation to Esther’s community to gauge their interest in building a BT Academy. The response was overwhelming. Construction on the BT Academy of Gita began in October of 2008 and, since then, Hariyet has been at the site every week helping to dig the foundation and clear the land so that Esther and her five siblings will have the opportunity to receive the education that she never did.

The BT Academy of Gita will open for classes in the fall of 2009.

esther’s school the bt academy of gita

The BT Academy of Gita is the first-ever permanent public school structure to serve seven villages and approximately 325 children in and around Gita, Uganda.

Financially backed by the student chapter of BT at UVA, the 2800 square foot building was designed by 15 senior-level UVA architecture students through studio reCOVER and five UVA engineering students through the Engineering in Context Capstone Design Program. The construction of the BT Academy of Gita marks the first time in BT’s history that a cross-discipline team from the same campus provided both the funds and construction design for a new project.

The groundbreaking marked another important landmark for BT-a formal endorsement from the Vice President of Uganda, Prof. Gilbert B. Bukenya. The day before construction began, Bukenya offered the assistance of the Vice President’s office in continuing to strengthen the work of BT throughout Uganda, stating, “I am happy to be a BT ally-we must support this in every way possible.”