name gerald kasibante school the bt academy of sentigi location sentigi, uganda

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about gerald

Last spring, Gerald Kasibante made a pledge for the ages. When Building Tomorrow met with Mr. Kasibante and his fellow council of elders in Sentigi, Uganda, the idea of constructing the community’s first-ever permanent primary school building captivated his mind and pulled at his heart.

“I will give the land. When do we start?”

Little did Mr. Kasibante know that students at Notre Dame had already started. During the 2007-08 academic year, hundreds of students helped to raise over $40,000 to support what will now be known as the BT Academy of Sentigi. At full capacity, the campus will provide 325 kids with the opportunity to learn inside a classroom-an opportunity Mr. Kasibante never had.

As Mr. Kasibante hauls bricks, hoists trusses and works alongside scores of community members donating their labor, thousands of young people in the US are biking to Uganda, ‘Sitting for Good,’ and campaigning to ensure that Sentigi’s story is just one of many to be told. If they have it their way, it won’t take long for that to happen.

in gerald’s words…

“When I first heard of Building Tomorrow in a place called Kasozo I became excited and I thought I should invite them to come and build a school in our area. This encouraged me more to donate a piece of land so that a school could be built and children can study. I hope this will improve the quality of education in the area and lead to the development of our area because children without education, they have no hope, and the country at large cannot move forward.

This school, if built, will greatly improve the academic standards of all the children who do not have a chance to study in a comfortable school. It will further improve and boost their behavior. As we all know, an illiterate community is one which is held up in darkness, and there is no light for them.

…I further appeal to all parents to come together, work at the school site, since the returns of our efforts will be reflected in the good education of our children through this school.”