When it comes to charitable giving, many people are excited to get personally involved in making an impact. And most people are generous when given the opportunity. But even when we want to help others, we often don’t know how. Even more discouraging is that, with a lot of nonprofits and charities, it can feel like your contribution disappears into a black hole.
Vague impact doesn’t cut it for us here at Certified Abstract. Driving positive change in communities local and global is part of our mission, and that includes sharing opportunities for our friends and partners to make a difference, too.
One avenue for giving that has really resonated with our colleagues is Building a Bridge to Uganda, an organization that works to improve the lives and futures of poverty-stricken children in Africa. Our founder, Jen, has been working with this group for years, building new educational facilities in impoverished communities.
We often hear people say, “I wish I could give more.” But when it comes to building schools in Uganda, it might surprise you how little it takes to make a big impact.
First Steps Toward a Better Future
On Jen’s first trip to Uganda in 2017, she toured a number of schools and saw they all needed help of some kind. After helping to successfully renovate a primary school after her first trip, Jen decided in 2018 to focus on the worst of the worst. It was located in Kibale, a small town in the western region of Uganda. At the time, the school almost looked like an animal pen (sadly, not uncommon in the third world), with dirt floors, poor walls, and no lights.
The original school building in Kibale
Part of an overflow classroom
Despite the conditions, the children and teachers in this school were happy and engaged. Looking around, Jen saw all these smiling kids, sitting in the dirt trying to do their studies, with poor materials, no shoes, and their clothes in tatters. She thought, “The neediest school has the most positive energy. How do we not start here?”
Thanks to the generosity of friends and colleagues, in 2019 Jen raised $25,000 to build a wonderful four-classroom building for the community. (Like we said, it doesn’t take much to erect a school in Uganda!) The beauty of the schoolhouse comes from a local priest, Father Joseph, who works closely with the organization to help create the structures and resources the school needs. Father Joseph has an eye for creating beautiful structures that raise your spirits and your dignity.
The team also worked with a literacy group called PANGEA to provide books in both the native language and English, building a special library nook to house the new books. When the school needed a water tower, Jen posted a call for help on Facebook, and friends and colleagues came through for the school.
Bolstered by the project’s success, Jen decided to keep pushing forward. What blew everyone away was the speed with which the next round of funding came through.
A Call for Help is Answered
To add another four classrooms, Jen kicked off the project with a sizable contribution this past fall. But the team still needed another $10,000 to finish the project. So, in November, Chuck Ormsby, co-founder of Building a Bridge to Uganda, sent out an email asking people to match a $5,000 donation. They came through with the $10,000 needed in just one day.
Not only that, but another donor provided a $5,000 matching offer that raised an additional $9,000 in just 24 hours. Then an additional donor gave $5,001. That means the organization now has an extra $14,000 to put toward the school!
Once the classroom block is finished, the team plans to focus on building clean and functional latrines for the students and teachers, as well as a better kitchen facility. They’ll also use funds to improve the school’s chapel.
That’s four beautiful new classrooms and a better standard of living, all for less than the average price of a new car.
From Destitution to Dignity
What does it mean to the children of Kibale to have better schools? More than most of us in first-world countries can imagine. These kids are the poorest of the poor, living in the jungle with few amenities and resources. Even worse, many of them face emotional and physical abuse at home, along with food insecurity. The new schools provide the safe and supportive haven they need.
One of Building a Bridge to Uganda’s greatest accomplishments is a high school in Nakeseke, not far from Kibale, that’s annually now one of the top high schools in Uganda. Their students, the poorest kids in the country, score in the top 5% academically. One female student even went on to attend university and became a medical doctor.
The upshot is that these children get a better place to learn, and their parents see real investment in their schools. So, more families make the tremendous effort to keep their children in school, fighting the cycle of poverty. In the end, these kids get an opportunity to change the trajectory of their lives and the lives of their families.
Chuck says about visiting the Nakeseke and Kibale schools, “It’s like heaven when you go there. There is so much joy.”
Small Changes, Big Impact
One thing we love about working with Building a Bridge to Uganda is that not every project has to be massive, and not every donation has to be large. Even the smallest donations can have a huge impact—especially in a place where a few hundred dollars can send a child to school for a year. That’s right: your latte habit could be the difference between a kid getting educated or not.
When the group wanted to buy a new bus for the high school, they sold seats to donors for just $100. (One donor bought the entire back row because that’s where the cool kids sit…and another bought the front row, where the smart kids sit ? ) When the school needed a security wall, the team raised the $20,000 needed to cover the 6-acre campus by selling individual bricks for $100.
The truth is, our work will never be done in Uganda. What we’re involved with is an inexhaustible need. But, as an old African proverb says, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” All of us together, giving whatever we have to give, will drive the impact these communities need.
Want to learn more about this amazing organization? You can see their work, connect with the team, and make a donation on the Building a Bridge to Uganda website.
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