Thanks to the generosity of anonymous supporters of the University of Notre Dame and, now, the community of Isingo, Uganda – construction has started on our 22nd primary school! Follow its progress here!

name supported by site managed by location groundbreaking website

BT Primary School of Isingo University of Notre Dame Allan, BT Community Development Officer Kamuli District, Uganda August 14, 2014 buildingtomorrow.org/isingo

Isingo village, home to the future BT Primary School of Isingo, is located in a relatively flat region, approximately 45km from Kamuli town in the mid-eastern part of Uganda.

According to the Kamuli District Education Officer, Isingo is one of the poorest communities in the district and is in dire need of school infrastructure. The nearest primary school to the proposed site is 5km away and, on average, there are more than 600 students attending each of the five closest primary schools (5 to 9 km away). Additionally, there are more than 500 out-of-school students amongst the six villages (Isingo, Bugaga, Bugobi, Butoke-Busamba, Buluya and Butogonya) that the future BT primary school is expected to serve.

Currently, the only “school” nearby consists of a temporary one-room structure that serves as a joint classroom, staff room, and headmaster’s office. Additional classes are held under trees on the “school’s” compound. Despite this, the “school” has 300 kids enrolled with a government-funded head teacher and six (unqualified-unfortunately) teachers being supported by parents’ contributions.

To support the new school, the local government has donated four acres of land and committed to providing teachers and school resources. Community members themselves have agreed to volunteer 15,000 hours of self-labor and make regular financial contributions to ensure the school can sustain itself in the long-term.

Follow the school’s progress at buildingtomorrow.org/isingo.

To learn more about Building Tomorrow’s needs assessment process and community construction model, see “Building Tomorrow: from Access to Learning“