This is Alvin, a 4th grader at Building Tomorrow Primary School of Buyanja, located in the Lyantonde district of Central Uganda.

In 2019, Alvin participated in Building Tomorrow’s in-person Roots to Rise literacy and numeracy camps. After successfully completing each of the 25-day camps, Alvin felt more confident in his ability to read at grade level and perform math functions.

Alvin’s father Godfrey serves as a Community Education Volunteer (CEV), supporting the villages of Buyanja by encouraging parents and caretakers to enroll their children in school and educational programs like Roots to Rise. When schools shut down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Godfrey – a champion for quality education – didn’t hesitate to re-enroll his son in the Roots to Rise distance learning program.

Since August, Alvin has been completing numeracy exercises like Counting with Sticks and Bundles, Mind Map, and Fine with Nine by phone with Building Tomorrow Fellow Mercy Natuhwera. Both of Alvin’s parents are deeply invested in his education, as Alvin’s mother Phiona helps him during the calls with Mercy and Godfrey reviews the progress Alvin has made during each lesson in the evening, upon his return from work. Alvin continues to learn new ways to solve math problems – like multiplication and fractions – thanks to all the support he receives from BT Fellow Mercy and his parents!

When we say we are galvanizing individuals and communities to support quality education, this – Alvin’s story and his support system – is what we mean.

Together – with Fellows, CEVs, parents, and caretakers – we’re building back better and stronger!