Thanks to the efforts of students at DePauw University & William & Mary and, now, the community of Akolodongo, Uganda – construction has started on our 26th primary school! Follow its progress here!

name supported by site managed by location commitment signing website

BT Primary School of Akolodongo DePauw, William & Mary TBD, BT Community Development Officer Kaberamaido District, Uganda Nov 18, 2014 buildingtomorrow.org/akolodongo

Akolodongo is Building Tomorrow’s first community partner in Uganda’s Kaberamaido district, located in north eastern Uganda, approximately 400 km and an “all day bus ride” from Kampala.

Currently, the only nearby primary school is a grass-thatched structure erected by the community and financed by parents at the rate of 10,000UGX per term. Despite the informal structure and conditions, the majority of the school’s eight teachers are qualified and more than 250 students are enrolled. More formal schools are at least 7km away.

Thanks to the generosity of one community member, Mr.Ekulu Selestine Ewagu, five acres of land have been donated for a new primary school. Once opened, the new school will replace the informal structure and qualified teachers will be transferred. The school will serve students from Akolodongo in addition to: Rarak, Ajikdak, Ajonai and Acinga villages.

And last Wednesday, November 18, community partners, families and friends of future students gathered for a commitment signing ceremony where they pledged to provide 15,000 hours of self-labor and make regular financial contributions to ensure the school can sustain itself in the long-term. As part of Building Tomorrow’s Memorandum of Understanding with Uganda’s Ministry of Education, the local district government has committed text books, furniture and qualified teachers upon the school’s completion.

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

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