name ventril age 8 school the bt academy of lutisi location lutisi, uganda

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about ventril

Ventril has never been outside of his home village of Lutisi. He lives with his grandmother; both of his parents have died from AIDS.

In 2007, Building Tomorrow gave a presentation to Ventril’s community. At that time, Ventril was no longer in school as the two and a half hour walk each way was too long for him. When construction began on the BT Academy of Lutisi, Ventril’s grandmother, age 83, was the first to help out. She worked at the site every day so that her grandson could go back to school. Thanks to his grandmother and his entire community, Ventril is now one of hundreds of kids attending the BT Academy of Lutisi.

Ventril hopes to be an engineer or mechanic some day and he’s already headed in the right direction. His favorite hobby is collecting water bottles and trying to invent ways to make the tops of them fit together.

ventril’s school the bt academy of lutisi

In November 2006, high school students in 150 Key Clubs worldwide joined together during Key Club Week to fund the construction of the BT Academy of Lutisi. In September 2007, eight Key Club members traveled to Lutisi to break ground on the Academy, working hand-in-hand with local volunteers and community members. The BT Academy of Lutisi opened in May 2008.

BT’s partnership with the community in Lutisi was unprecedented. It marked the first time that parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and friends made the commitment to volunteer their time to construct the Academy – approximately 25,000 hours in total. Lutisi is BT’s first U-shaped, ten-room school. The BT Academy of Lutisi is also BT’s first academy completely supported by high school students.