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Build a school in Uganda

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Build a school in Uganda

Build a school in Uganda

Build a school in Uganda

Build a school in Uganda

Build a school in Uganda

Ellen Williams
Ellen Williams
Ellen Williams
Ellen Williams
1 Campaign |
Kisoro, Uganda
$715 USD 11 backers
1% of $57,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

We need your help to finish a school in rural Uganda! After two years of planning and eight months of fundraising, we have raised $143,000 to build this school, but we are still $57,000 short and need you to help put us over the top.

 

Right now, these children attend school in small, temporary classrooms.

 

 

Right now, the staff cooks lunch for 145 kids in this kitchen every day.

 

 

 

We broke ground on the new school in June and the buildings are currently up to roof level.

 

 

 

 

 

We need to finish by February when the school year starts and we need your help to do it.

 

What is the Ineza Parent’s School?

The Ineza Parent’s School was founded four years ago by Jackie Baganizi, a remarkable Ugandan woman with passion, drive, and initiative. She is supported by a wise and dedicated board. Jackie hoped to provide children in her home of Kisoro, Uganda, with an alternative to the overcrowded and understaffed public schools available to them. Jackie envisioned and is creating a school with a small class size and a curriculum that includes the Ugandan National Curriculum and strong English language instruction, but also developmentally appropriate play, music, sports, and dance. This is a rarity in Uganda where massively overcrowded classrooms and rote learning are the norm. Public schools in Uganda start at age 6, so the provision of early childhood education is particularly unusual. Many graduates of traditional schools are not being equipped with the skills they will need to succeed in this century.

In a place of substantial hardship, it is truly awe-inspiring to see Jackie’s entrepreneurial spirit, her hope, her optimism, and her vision of something so valuable and so lasting. The school currently serves 145 children ages 3 through 8 and is self-sustaining in its operating costs, but is growing by one grade per year and has greatly outgrown its temporary, make-shift space.

 

Jackie Baganizi, founder of Ineza Parent’s School

 

 

The Board of Ineza Parent’s School--Jackie Baganizi, Michael Baganizi, Ezra Ndagije, Peace Ruzaza, Rita  Byiringiro (not pictured)

 

 

Where is Kisoro?

Kisoro is located in the far southwestern corner of Uganda and serves as the headquarters of the Kisoro District. It borders both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is framed by green hillsides and towering volcanoes. The population of the town of Kisoro is roughly 18,000 people, while the District comprises nearly 250,000 people. It is a place of considerable hardship, but also great joy, where deep religious faith, strong community ties, and a profound respect for education are the norm. The mainstay of Kisoro's economy is subsistence farming. Even relative to the neighboring, impoverished regions of southwestern Uganda, Kisoro District is the poorest, with the smallest average farm size and the lowest per capita income.

 

 How did we get involved?

When I first visited Uganda, I was struck with both the profound need for a school for these children in this extremely impoverished area, but was also struck with how much further funds could go in Uganda as compared to the U.S. The idea for the Kisoro Children’s Foundation (www.kisorochildren.org) grew out of that need. Over the past two years, we established the Kisoro Children’s Foundation and worked with Jackie and her board to create the infrastructure needed in Uganda for the Ineza Children’s Center to be a governmentally recognized non-profit. We also worked with the Ugandan board as they considered engineering plans for the school, arranged for land donation, and secured all permits needed. The overall cost of building the school is estimated to be approximately $200,000, a construction cost of roughly $15 per square foot. The school broke ground in June and is physically over half finished. We are about two thirds of the way there on our fund raising and are asking if you can help us get to the end. 

 

What will happen to your money?

Every dollar you donate will go toward completing the new school. We are committed to a policy of zero administrative overhead on the U.S. side – any travel or other expenses incurred are strictly self-funded. And we are working closely with our trusted colleagues in Uganda and carefully monitoring all expenses to ensure that every dollar is well-spent. We have known Jackie for nearly a decade, and have the utmost confidence in her.

 

When do we need it?

Now! We have great momentum, but we need to close the gap in the next 3 months. Help us finish the school for these kids!

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