Partnership

In the summer of 2008, when Avery Jukes took his first trip to Africa, the primary goal was to help build a primary school. The organization that organized the building project was Building Tomorrow (BT). Because both organizations are based out of Indianapolis, IN and have similar causes, there has been a supportive relationship since JFK’s inception. In the fall of 2009, an official partnership was formed.

JFK’s primary cause is to provide financial aid for secondary school to children in Uganda, Africa. BT’s primary cause is to build sustainable primary schools in sub-Sahara Africa. This partnership presents JFK with a manageable number of students to provide scholarships, other than selecting from the entire country. It allows BT to give their students something to work for throughout school and look forward to upon graduation.

At the end of every school year, the graduating primary school students are required to pass a PLE exam in order to continue on to higher education. Each year, JFK provided PLE test prep materials to help the students practice for this exam. Upon passing the test at the end of the year, JFK and BT will select how many and which students will receive a scholarship. There are many different factors that are considered when selecting who will receive the scholarships.

The scholarships are given out on a year to year basis and cover the cost of tuition, room, and board. Progress reports are checked periodically throughout the year.

About

Mission

Model

BT chapters and supporters provide challenge grants to communities equal to land and construction materials for a new academy while local community members and family and friends of future BT students volunteer 20,000 hours of their time to construct each academy.

BT currently works in Uganda, identifying areas with, quite simply, the greatest number of children with the least access to a primary school. In these areas, BT purchases a plot of land and, with the help of the local community, constructs a new primary academy.  Committees of residents and local leaders are established to oversee the construction process from start to finish.  Upon completion of the academy, the building is leased to the local government to manage day-to-day operations under an agreement with BT.

Each BT academy is equipped with seven classrooms (P1 through P7—or the US equivalent of kindergarten through 6th grade), an office, a library, meeting space, toilets and a soccer field and has classroom space for 325 students.

Success.

Today, BT has opened five primary academies in Uganda and has classroom space for over 1,750 students.