Just over seven years ago, the Building Tomorrow story began with a special Christmas in Kampala delivery. Today, seven Building Tomorrow academies are on holiday break, three are getting ready for their first round of students in February, two are now in an active construction phase and as of last week, one will forever be referred to as ‘the best Christmas present ever.’
Joseph and Kenneth, our Country Director and Construction Coordinator respectively, were on hand as the community of Kidula broke ground on Building Tomorrow’s 12th academy, supported by UNC-Chapel Hill, amidst what they described as ‘many, many cheers.’ Joining the Building Tomorrow crew for the festivities was the Commissioner for Secondary Education from the Ministry of Education who pledged to continue deepening the ministry’s ties with Building Tomorrow. When local leaders asked the community to start work on Tuesday, they quickly protested. Monday sounded better.
As we celebrate the holidays with family and friends, I can’t help but smile in thinking about Vincent, one of our staff members working in Kyeitabya, a Notre Dame supported site that is ever-so-close to completion. Vincent called Joseph last week and asked him if it would be ok to forego his Christmas break as he’d been invited to spend it in Kyeitabya with the family of one of the school construction team members. Perhaps this embrace is why our team so fervently believes that our communities are the key to transforming the face of rural education.
Thanks for helping us make 2011 a great year. Here’s to an even better 2012!
–George & the entire BT team
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