In the remote village of Kabasegwa, Uganda, where there once existed little more than a grass-thatched hut, now stands a ten-room brick school-house, thanks in large part to the hard work, tireless enthusiasm, and incredible generosity of the Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter at UT-Austin.

Their fundraising and outreach efforts enabled Building Tomorrow to partner with eight communities in Uganda’s Lyantonde District to provide access to a quality education for hundreds of out-of-school children. And early Friday morning, amidst a crowd of 500+ parents, family members, friends, government officials and local leaders, we celebrated the opening of their school: the Building Tomorrow Primary School of Kabasegwa.

In line with recent updates to our model, the primary school is what we consider a public/private hybrid. Private, because parents have committed to making contributions to the school each term to fund a nursery (pre-K) teacher, supplemental classroom materials, and daily meals for students. And public, because it’s considered to be “government-aided” by the Ugandan Ministry of Education & Sports, meaning that they fund salaries for primary-level (P1-P7) teachers but they’re not the “founding body” of the school. Teachers have likewise been posted by the government, and a member of our staff, Willy (who serves as our Education Support Officer) interviewed and approved their hiring. He is also providing ongoing training opportunities.

In short, the community couldn’t be more supportive or excited. And starting today, students and teachers reported for their first day of class.

Webale nnyo, nnyo, nnyo (thank you, thank you, thank you) to everyone who made this possible.

at a glance
supported by district site managed by building committee chair groundbreaking first day of class	Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Texas-Austin Lyantonde District Jjumba Cyprian Perez Mwesigye Sep 21, 2012 Mar 10, 2014

in pictures

from the chairman

Today is a happy day because we celebrate the work that has been done here. For us to have a school here, us now here in Kabasegwa have a degree. Our students must be well looked after in buildings as well built as these.

When you own a banana plantation, you don’t only look at the leaves
and disregard the fruit. So with this school, parents, we don’t just
look at this school and say we are finished. No. We use this as an
impetus, a fire behind us to do more. When we close here don’t go.
There’s good food to eat and big plans to be made.

– Perez Mwesigye
Chairman, BT Primary School of Kabasegwa Community Building Committee