Schools for Schools is a fundraising program created by the nonprofit Invisible Children Inc. The goal of the program is to have students and schools in the western world creatively compete to raise money and rebuild schools in northern Uganda, a region whose education standards and facilities have suffered due to the long-lasting war in the north of the country.
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Schools for Schools emerged out of Invisible Children Inc.'s overarching goal to help children in northern Uganda receive a quality education. After doing extensive research into the region's education system, they saw the need to encourage academic excellence and leadership not only in students, but also on a much larger scale within the schools. Even the children who are able to actually go to school still face unfair limitations because of the poor condition of their classrooms.
Through the Schools for Schools program Invisible Children is working to change that. By going to the root of the problem and improving education from the ground up, they are able to make a long-term change in the quality of education in the North.
Northern Uganda's standard of education hasn't always been so low. Prior to the war, at least five of Uganda's top 10 schools came from the North. Today there isn't one school from the North in the top 100.
After Uganda's Millennium Goal of Universal Primary Education [1] was introduced, many organizations began to focus their efforts on primary schools. The lack of attention given to post-primary schools has made the pursuit of higher education difficult for students and teachers.
Schools for Schools is the largest-scale project to date addressing the region’s need for improved learning environments and a larger investment in higher education. By holistically rebuilding 11 of the most promising secondary schools in the region, Invisible Children is looking beyond the temporary fix of simply putting kids in classrooms, but instead putting them in classrooms that will better prepare them for their future and the future of their country.
Schools for Schools is one of the first fundraising programs to function using a real-time, interactive website. When a school registers on the site, they are assigned to one of 10 “clusters,” each of which is partnered with a specific school in northern Uganda. The goal of each school cluster is to raise as much money as possible for their partner Ugandan school.
The money raised goes towards rebuilding and refurbishing the partner schools in five main categories: water and sanitation, infrastructure and facilities, teacher training and incentives, equipment and resources, and technology.
As progress in fundraising is tracked on the website, students can compare how their school is performing relative to other competing schools. Students can also watch a real-time progress bar that allows them to see what their funds are helping to rebuild in northern Uganda.
At the end of the competition, the top fundraisers from each cluster are awarded trips to Uganda to help implement the money they have raised.
The development portion of Schools for Schools is an authentic approach to international aid. When Invisible Children Inc. started discussing where and how to invest their resources, they knew they wanted to be extremely intentional about their actions, choosing programs that would do more than just temporarily address the gaps. The goal was to work from the ground up, creating projects that would encourage community involvement and offer long-term change in the region's education.
In order to meet this goal, Invisible Children brought together a group of individuals with the skill sets and personal commitments needed to see such a complex project through. By having a specific group monitor the project from beginning to end, Invisible Children knew they would be able to ensure that the funds were implemented in the places that were needed most in the most effective way possible.
One of the most important decisions this team made was selecting which secondary schools they would partner with in the North. After developing extensive selection criteria, they originally chose 10 institutions that had the best hope for creating lasting change in the educational sector. Three of the ten are schools displaced by the conflict and are now looking to return to their original sites after more than ten years.
As Invisible Children wanted local ideas and community participation to lead efforts toward effective change, they created development committees for each of the 10 schools. These committees include students, teachers, parents, members of the administration, Board of Governors, and local government. In the beginning, these groups established the list of project priorities for each school within five target areas: water and sanitation, books and supplies, teacher incentives, construction of facilities, and technology. The committee’s ongoing involvement provides opportunities to understand the many educational needs and obstacles at each school. With their input, Invisible Children is able to continually tailor their efforts to meet each school’s specific needs.
Over 90% of the funds raised from the Schools for Schools competition go directly to northern Uganda for implementation. The other 10% is used for related administrative and material costs for the program.
In the first semester, 582 international schools joined the competition and in only 100 days raised more than $1.6 million. Over 90% of those funds are currently being used on the ground in northern Uganda.
In July 2007, Schools for Schools began the first implementation of these projects. This first phase focused on refurbishment projects as well as the construction of new classrooms and science laboratories at Lacor Secondary School, Gulu High School, Layibi Secondary School, and Atanga Secondary School. Construction at these sites began in July 2007 and continued until February 2008. In February, the second phase of implementation began, focusing on the remaining projects in all ten schools. Major works for infrastructure implementation include the completion of a second story of a new girls’ dormitory; the construction of classroom blocks and science laboratories; renovations and refurbishments of existing classrooms and administrative blocks; perimeter fencing; borehole construction; and renovation of plumbing systems. Schools for Schools also provides much needed equipment and resources, including textbooks, sports and arts materials, science apparatus and other teaching and learning materials. Training and support is provided through workshops, regular stakeholders’ sessions and monitoring and evaluation.
All Round One projects in these schools were completed by June 2008.
The first project undertaken by the Schools for Schools implementation team was a two-story girls’ dormitory at Gulu High School, completed in February 2008. Between money from students, a substantial grant from Wellspring International, and a unique partnership with Guess, Inc. made possible by Olivia and Caroline Marciano, the quality and magnitude of this project represents a bright future for the program. Similarly, a grant from Africare is currently being used to carry out water and sanitation improvements at seven of the 10 schools. Partnerships with organizations like Wellspring and Africare and with families like the Marcianos provide additional support for our big vision.
Round Two of Schools for Schools launched in September 2007 and ended January 2008, with money still coming in months later. More than $1.7 million came in from this semester and is being funneled back to the 10 partner schools, continuing to improve the quality of education for thousands of students.
The team on the ground is working closely with the School Development Committees to spend this money, carry out needs and infrastructure assessments, draw building plans, seek technical advice, and devise budgets. This second phase of projects began in July 2008.
Round Three of Schools for Schools will start on September 8, 2008 with an international tour and an additional partner school in northern Uganda - Keyo Secondary School.
Unique to this semester is the release of Invisible Children's latest piece of media, GO!, a documentary that captures the adventure of a group of American students traveling to northern Uganda during the summer of 2007. From fundraisers in the US to the displacement camps outside Gulu, the documentary asks the simple question of how far you’d be willing to go to make a difference in the world. Followed by a visual update on the progress being made on the ground, the screening will give audiences the opportunity to become a part of Uganda’s future.
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