Clinton Global Initiative spotlights Building Tomorrow as a 2024 Commitment Maker
(NEW YORK, NY) September 23, 2024 – Building Tomorrow announced today plans to enroll one million learners in foundational literacy and numeracy programming in Uganda by 2028 as part of the organization’s Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2024 Annual Meeting. This commitment will be achieved through the scaling of Building Tomorrow’s signature Roots to Rise literacy and numeracy program, marking a significant moment of growth and redoubled effort to drastically reduce learning poverty in East Africa.
Today, nearly nine out of ten learners in sub-Saharan Africa are unable to read, write or perform basic math by age 10, with over 200 million learners lacking critical foundational skills. As the largest implementer of targeted instruction in Uganda, Building Tomorrow is committed to reaching the more than 83% of learners in Uganda who have yet to reach grade-level proficiency in literacy and numeracy, stunting their academic trajectory and limiting their life-long earning potential.
To meet this goal, Building Tomorrow will train approximately 7,200 new Community Education Volunteers (CEVs), joining over 15,000 CEVs who have already delivered Building Tomorrow’s Roots to Rise program to over 525,000 students over the last three years. At the commitment’s completion, learners in over 2,200 school communities will be impacted.
“Building Tomorrow’s work is rooted in communities, where our teams create sustainable change. We are excited to have CGI’s recognition of the impact of our model, and we are thrilled to launch this new Commitment to Action in partnership with CGI, building on our first Commitment to Action made in 2011, ” said George Srour, Co-Founder and Chief Dreamer of Building Tomorrow.
Building Tomorrow’s community-powered approach has delivered significant impact. In a 2023 randomized controlled trial, CEVs trained by Building Tomorrow were found to provide learning gains equivalent to over two years of schooling in just under three hours of one-on-one, phone-based lessons.
“As President Clinton reflected during his 2012 visit to Building Tomorrow, when a community embraces education, that is when real change begins. We are proud to partner with CGI once again to deliver for learners whose future lives truly depend on gaining these foundational skills,” said Joseph Kaliisa, Co-Founder and Uganda Country Director.
Building Tomorrow’s Commitment to Action is valued at over USD $20m, including the in-kind contribution of $1m of donated time on the part of CEVs who will deliver the Roots to Rise program. Today’s Commitment to Action follows Building Tomorrow’s successfully-fulfilled commitment in 2011 to enroll 15,000 out-of-school learners in school.
ABOUT BUILDING TOMORROW
Founded in 2006, Building Tomorrow supports community-powered foundational learning in rural areas in Uganda. Through the organization’s signature Roots to Rise (R2R) literacy and numeracy program delivered in classrooms and community settings, Building Tomorrow has enrolled over 525,000+ learners since the start of the program. Building Tomorrow’s work is powered by a team of over 15,000 Community Education Volunteers and in partnership with local and national-level stakeholders. Building Tomorrow is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization and is based in Kampala, Uganda with a US office in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.
ABOUT THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE (CGI)
Founded by President Bill Clinton in 2005, the Clinton Global Initiative is a community of doers representing a broad cross section of society and dedicated to the idea that we can accomplish more together than we can apart. Through CGI’s unique model, more than 10,000 organizations have launched more than 4,000 Commitments to Action — new, specific, and measurable projects and programs – that are making a difference in the lives of more than 500 million people in 180 countries.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sophia Menyhert, Building Tomorrow
sophia.menyhert@buildingtomorrow.org
+1 512 815 7741
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