Building Tomorrow's IU chapter to sponsor school in Uganda

The Building Tomorrow chapter on campus has raised more than $38,000 to fund an elementary school in Uganda.

Building Tomorrow is a 10-year-old organization based in Indianapolis whose purpose is to spread awareness about education globally with a focus on Uganda.

“I really like that Building Tomorrow gets the community involved,” said Brigitte Hackler, junior and former Building Tomorrow president. “It’s a team effort, and it serves as a good model for the world. If you’re going to fight poverty, education is a part of that.”

The organization was founded by George Srour, who said he saw the lack of education buildings for children when he visited Uganda. He wanted to help begin the building of
such facilities.

Uganda has the youngest population in the world. With more than half of its population under the age of 15, the demand for classroom space is premium, according to the Building Tomorrow website.

George’s sister, Maria Srour, started the IU chapter of Building Tomorrow approximately six years ago.

The school will be called Building Tomorrow Academy of Kimbimba, located in the Lwengo district of Uganda.

With its central location, students from nearby communities can travel a short distance to school as opposed to the 3.5 to 4 kilometer walk before.

It will serve students and families in six neighboring villages — Kibimba B, Kibimba A, Kitwekyajovu, Kabukye A, Kabukye B and Kasabya.

As a group effort, the community in Uganda donates land and over 20 hours of labor, while parents and families, along with skilled contractors, put forth the time to construct the school.

“Building this school puts an importance of education and provides a space where kids can come and learn,” Hackler said.

The school requires about $60,000 to build, so IU has teamed up with Hope College in Michigan and Depauw University in Indiana to fund the rest of the money.

The two colleges will be co-sponsors for the school.

This will be the 20th school that Building Tomorrow has sponsored and the first that carries the IU name.

“We’re just really excited that the school is actually breaking ground,” Hackler said.
Building Tomorrow Academy will be a 10-room primary school for children in grades one through seven and has room for 325 students.

The chapter has organized numerous fundraisers and events through the years to raise the money for the school, Hackler said.

“We’ve raised money just about any way possible,” she said.

Building Tomorrow has a future fundraiser for the Uganda project called Bike to Uganda, where donators will ride on stationary bikes in a bike-a-thon.

The goal is to “travel” the distance from IU to Uganda, which is more than 7,000 miles, Hackler said.

Every participant is asked to donate $5 and engage in a 30-minute bike ride to add to the previously traveled miles.

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from April 14 through 16 by the clock tower outside of Woodburn Hall.

The academy broke ground March 18 and is estimated to be done by the end of this year. It is scheduled to open for its first term in February 2015.  

“Building Tomorrow Academy of Kibimba represents hard work and the potential to improve the future through education for a village in Uganda,” Hackler said.

To find out more information on Building Tomorrow, visit buildingtomorrow.org/chapters/iu.