One for One Challenge
Team Mid West put this video and challenge together. They’re encouraging every student at the schools they toured to to bring one dollar in for Schools for Schools on December 1st. They figured that if everyone did it, we could raise over $60,000 in one day, which got us to thinking…
The average American school has 535 students. Multiply that by the 1484 schools signed up for Schools for Schools at the moment and you get 793,940 students. If each of those students brought just one dollar in for their partner school, we would raise nearly $800,000 in one day. Like Brian O’Neill at Capuchino High School said, “if a lot of people do something small, it becomes something big.”
We’re not doing something huge…
A lot of Mugsies add up to a Manute
The Schools for Schools club at Capuchino High School made the paper this morning. They’ve raised $1000 so far and plan to raise $4000 more in the next 29 days (that’s all that’s left in the competition). They’ve got a plan to make it happen too, they’re making and selling their own shirts and jewelry among other things and they’re participating in the book drive as well.
Brian O’Neill, a Capuchino student, summed up the essence of Invisible Children and Schools for Schools perfectly in the article. “We’re not doing something huge,” he said. “We’re doing something small. But if a lot of people do something small, it becomes something big.” Check out the entire article here.
The Schools for Schools Diaries
Volleyball is huge in Uganda, but Sam was able to hold her own on the court
July 1st 2009: Questions, questions, questions all around me. Shooting across the small room from left to right, and there I am, in the center of the overwhelming crowd. “What is America like?” “Does America have diseases?” “Do you know Obama?” By the end of the question session I was on my feet proving that Americans actually can dance. Later that day I asked if I could join in their volleyball game. My request was met with confused looks. They didn’t know Americans played volleyball. I showed them what I was capable of, and they invited me to be in a three game tournament against an opposing high school. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of the trip. What other American can say they played in a Ugandan High School volleyball tournament?
Samantha McNamara, 2009 Schools for Schools trip winner
San Ramon Valley High Schools for Schools
Sunee Washom and Kayla Holderbein are students at San Ramon Valley High School. They created a club on campus called Generation 4 Change. The club partners with non-profit organizations to raise awareness and support for children around the world. For the Fall 2009 semester, Generation 4 Change is focusing on our Schools for Schools program.
Sunee and Kayla hosted a screening with us at SRVHS on a recent Saturday night that blew our minds. Saturday screenings usually aren’t very well attended, so we try not to book them, but we trusted these two when when they said it would be good. Good was an understatement. The community came out in force and committed to getting more involved when the film ended. Since then, parents, local businesses and entire teams have gotten in on the fundraising action. Not to be outdone, Sunee decided to pass on birthday presents this year instead and encouraged her friends and family to donate to their Schools for Schools effort. And donate they did, to the tune of over $1500.
Kayla, Sunee and everyone at SRVHS are doing it the right way. They’re getting their communities involved and having fun with it. There’s one month left for you to do the same, and only 15 days left in the November Competition.
Schools for Schools by the Numbers
New, furnished classroom block at Anaka
- 11 Partner Schools, supported by over 1400 schools worldwide
- $4.8 million raised in three semesters
- Average student to classroom ratio improved from 183:1 to 94:1
- Safe water coverage improved from 53% in 2007 to 85% in 2009
- 26 new classrooms constructed, 17 more refurbished
- 108 latrine stances constructed, 14 flush toilets refurbished
- Six motorized water systems established, four new boreholes drilled, six more boreholes refurbished
Things have changed drastically at Anaka as you can see
There is just over one month left in this year’s competition. We’re taking 16 of you with us to northern Uganda next summer (11 fundraising winners, 3 book drive winners, 1 creative idea winner and one November Competition winner). Check here for fundraising ideas and here to make a donation to Schools for Schools.
S4S Update: New Textbooks!
Science books for our partner schools!
The money you all raise is split over the six basic areas of implementation at our partner schools. One of these areas involves supplying our partners with scholastic material. S4S is committed to providing the schools with the supplies they need to give their students the best possible education. One of our biggest goals is to fill the classrooms and libraries with all the textbooks the schools require to teach the Ugandan curriculum. Last week, S4S sent an order to several publishing houses in Kampala for literally thousands of science books! When delivered, all of our 11 partners will have every chemistry and physics textbook they need, meaning that S4S has hit another one of its exit targets. Using funds from Round 4, S4S hopes to be able to purchase enough books for the remaining five core subjects. As of now, our partner schools lack the books needed to teach these five subjects well. Thanks to all of you who have donated books or dollars, your support is translating into real opportunity for your Ugandan peers.
I went to Uganda this summer with Invisible Children
Jenny and a few of her closest friends in Gulu
I went to Uganda this past summer with Invisible Children, and I can easily say it changed my life. My favorite part of the two week trip was the culture that we were surrounded with. The people we met were filled with joy and always seemed to have smiles on their faces. One of my favorite parts of the trip was when we were walking back to the compound after spending a day with a student, and we stopped by a teacher’s house on the way back. The village we stopped in had kids running around everywhere, and we soon got them playing a game of leap frog and jumping up and down. It was so sweet to see them all laughing and having so much fun! The children there are adorable and their smiles are contagious. If I could go back, I would in a heartbeat.
Jenny Thompson, 2009 Schools for Schools Trip Winner
S4S Update: New Building for Atanga’s Teachers
The changing face of Atanga features the foundations of a new administrative building (foreground) and two IC-built classroom blocks (background).
Atanga is a relatively small school, and until two years ago it consisted of no more than one dilapidated shack surrounded by a few trees. Students now attend class in new classrooms and study in well-equipped laboratories. The IC impact at Atanga has been huge: S4S has invested over $370,000 in new classrooms, latrines, a power system, and teacher capacity development workshops. With that said, the students at Atanga still have basic educational needs that have not yet been met; even after all that IC has done at the school, more projects await.
The top of this year’s School Project Priority List for Atanga was a request for a new Administration Block. In our struggle to raise Atanga’s performance to a nationally competitive level, catering for the teachers and administration is equally as important as supporting the students . Only good teaching spawns effective learning. The new administrative building will be two stories high, with new offices for the Head Teacher and his support staff, as well as a huge staff room for all the teachers. The foundations are done, and soon construction on the walls will begin. Before we know it, Atanga will be yet another step closer to achieving the nurturing educational climate it is striving to create. This transformation is taking place because thousands of students around the world are banding together for Atanga!
Miracle Minute
That works out to $114,000 an hour...which is decent
York Community High’s Schools for Schools club does not waste any time. Last week they pitted grades 9-12 against one another in a change war. The goal was to see who could raise the most money for Gulu Senior Secondary in one minute. As an incentive, the top three classes to raise the most dough would win some of their favorite food for free. Following that one very chaotic minute, the fabulous students of York Community High School ending up raising over $1,900 for Gulu Senior!
The minutes are ticking away for this year’s Schools for Schools Competition. What do you have planned?
Kelsey Corbin, Mid-West Roadie
S4S Update: Three Down, Three to Go!
Three Ugandan teachers—Ketty, Robert, and John—have been awarded two-year visas to the US
If you’ve been following this website, you know that six Ugandan teachers will head to the US for one month of team teaching in December under the S4S Reciprocal Teacher Exchange. We’re ecstatic about this upcoming trip because we’ve never brought Ugandan teachers to the US in this capacity before.
Yesterday three of the selected teachers were called for interviews at the US Embassy in Kampala. It can often be difficult to obtain an appointment for the visa interview, and the interview itself can be very challenging. In order to grant a visa, the US Embassy has to be assured that the people intending to travel, in this case our Ugandan teachers, have every intention of returning home. The three candidates traveled to Kampala overnight and sat for interviews in the early morning. After an almost disastrous start (one candidate forgot her passport!) all three got the opportunity to sit before an immigration officer and tell their story. After an agonizing couple of hours, the S4S team learned that all three candidates had been successful and were awarded two-year visas!
Invisible Children Uganda has good ties with the US Embassy, thanks in part to the great work our teams do on the ground in Gulu, but primarily from the efforts of everyone involved in the global IC movement. Without the continued publicity from your support, our teachers might not been so successful. Plans are underway for the remaining three selected teachers to sit for interviews. Keep your fingers crossed!
Mizzou Goes Off
Scrooge McDuck would be proud...unless of course he found out they gave it all away
Mizzou raised $1000 for Gulu Senior Secondary School yesterday. Here’s how they did it:
- Bake sale all day leading up to their screening
- Promo blitz on campus for their screening
- Sold shirts and stickers they designed at their screening
- Sold pizza and soda at the screening
It’s that simple. Some food, some promo, some shirts and some more food. It takes work, but a thousand dollar day is more than doable. Thanks to the Mizzou crew for taking a day out of their lives to make a huge difference at their partner school.
S4S Update: Girl’s Dorm Rising at St. Mary’s
Last year St. Mary’s Lacor School asked for a girl’s dormitory. S4S, with the help of thousands of students across the world, has combined forces and raised enough funds for a new two-story girl’s dormitory. Work is well underway on site: the walls of the first floor are done, and the huge task of casting the second floor’s concrete slab has started. Within two weeks, S4S expects the walls of the second floor to have taken shape. Before we know it, the S4S engineers will be capping off the roof. Seeing the building grow day by day is incredibly exciting!
Security of the female students and their access to education are concerns for the entire school community at St. Mary’s. In years past in Uganda, young girls have been pressured into leaving school at an early age to help at the home and start families of their own. Historically, African communities have regarded the women in their ranks as second class citizens; however, after huge efforts to sensitize communities, girls and women are becoming empowered through local and national programs. This hard-earned empowerment and the shift in the way society sees women is playing out in northern Uganda. The new girl’s dormitory at St. Mary’s Lacor was requested by the entire school community, and as such, is a prime example of how the community has shifted their traditional ways of thinking toward a more equality-based mentality.
Thanks to all those who are continuing to raise funds for St. Mary’s Lacor. Your efforts are making a huge impact!
A Day in the Life of a Student
Alex, Prossy and a few of the Girls from Gulu High hanging out between classes
Day in the Life of a Student
One of my most memorable experiences took place at Gulu High School, my partner school. All of the S4S trip winners were split up to different schools to spend a day in the life of a Ugandan student. The purpose of this day was to take their classes, meet their friends, experience a day in their life.
For the rest of my life, I will never forget what it felt like walking into the first class. Prossy (my Acholi friend whom I shadowed) and I walked in, and simultaneously ninety pairs of heads whipped around and I had 180 eyes on me. I was mortified. Whispers and giggles immediately broke out… I knew they were thinking, “who is this crazy white girl?” I had never felt so far from the United States and so out of my comfort zone in my entire life.
As the day progressed, my fear and embarrassment quickly turned to excitement and joy! I got to know Prossy and her friends. They were so beautiful, driven, and without a doubt some of the wackiest girls I have ever met. We sang, played, laughed, and danced (they taught me the traditional Acholi dances and I taught them Single Ladies…. reppin’ Beyonce even overseas!) They told me stories about the war, their families living in IDP camps, and how grateful they were to American students for building them a beautiful new dormitory where they are comfortable and safe. I was no longer some crazy white girl to them and they no longer strangers to me. I walked away from Gulu HS that day with new friends and opened eyes.
Alex Ammons – 2009 Schools for Schools Trip Winner
Uganda or Bust
Alex at the base of Fort Patiko, a former slave trading post in northern Uganda
We’re 26 minutes from landing as I write, we’ve flown over Italy and half of the continent of Africa. This morning I awoke to discover we were directly over the Sahara Desert just as the sun was peering over the horizon line. It was absolutely breathtaking. We’re so close, this is all real. I will soon be on foot in Entebbe driving for 45 minutes to Kampala, Uganda, and later Gulu. Incredible! The fasten seatbelt signs have turned on and I am now confined to the seat in which I sit. We slowly make our descent, as the plane lowers ever so slightly. It’s just so surreal. I know I keep saying that, but it’s because I need to keep reminding myself this isn’t a dream – it’s reality. It’s here, it’s now, it’s real.
Alex Morrow, 2009 Schools for Schools Trip Winner
Alex put her entire trip journal online here. Check it out and get fundraising if you want to go to Uganda yourself next summer.
S4S Update: New Lab at Pabo SS
The new three-block lab at Pabo SS rises, with IC-built classroom blocks standing in the background
Progress on the construction of a new three-block laboratory at Pabo SS is going smoothly. The new block is the most ambitious project S4S has ever undertaken at Pabo SS. When finished, it will come with a price tag of just over $130,000 US! The new laboratory will include fully furnished individual physics, chemistry, and biology classrooms, as well as two storage rooms and a preparation room.
The Ugandan Ministry of Education puts a huge emphasis on students’ ability to perform well in the traditional sciences; the new laboratory in Pabo SS will provide the tools for the students of Pabo to compete on an equal playing field with their peers in other parts of Uganda. Although seemingly expensive, S4S sees this investment as a comparative bargain: the new facilities are priceless in terms of the opportunity they will provide those students who wish to excel .
A huge thanks to all of those who have made this project possible. Keep it up the good work!
Let’s hang out Monday in London. No need to commute.
Man, we love London.
We’re there once again this Monday for the Legatum Institute’s Next Generation Philanthropy Forum. It’s a sweet opportunity for the leaders of several major international organizations to get together and discuss how the world’s youth is influencing the spectrum of social conscience. Yeah, that’s you. Both Invisible Children CEO Ben Keesey and VP of International Development Ben Thomson were asked to participate in the various panels taking place throughout the day. We’re grateful to have been considered for this first-rate honor, and look forward to hearing from the directors of some pretty impressive groups. Our generation is taking charity to a new level — this conference is a perfect example of that.
Hey, don’t worry. Of course we’re not leaving you out. The entire conference will be streamed live over the internet, so we’d love you to tune in. You know we want you there. For you Tweeters, comments and questions can be submitted by Twitter at any point during the live feed.
The conference will be held from 09.00-18.00 GMT. DC is 5 hours earlier, California 8 hours earlier. Ben Thomson will be speaking on a panel entitled New business approaches to philanthropy from 11.15-12.45, while Ben Keesey will speak on Advocacy and philanthropy through new media from 16.30-18.00. We know, that’s a lot of Bens.
For a complete schedule of the panels offered and for more information on the forum, visit the Legatum Institute’s website, LI.com.
To view the live feed, click here.
Follow Legatum on Twitter at www.twitter.com/legatum
Questions/comments can be submitted at #linextgen
Twilight Auction Ends Tomorrow
We dare you to find better looking vampires...or are they werewolves?
This is a friendly reminder that we have signed copies of Stephenie Meyer’s entire Twilight series on ebay right now - and the auction ends tomorrow. Already made your holiday wishlist? Add these books and help your family get an early start on their holiday shopping. The books are in new condition and were hand-signed by Ms. Meyer herself as a personal contribution to the biggest book drive in history. All proceeds from this sale will go towards Schools for Schools, so don’t hold back on your bids.
Time to Start Sending Your Books In
These three ladies would be more than happy to buy any books from you that we can't accept
It's time to start sending your books in if you saw this picture and thought it was your classroom
S4S Update: 2nd Girls Dorm at Gulu High
The walls of Gulu High School's second IC-built girls dormitory are getting higher and higher with each passing day
Last month S4S signed the contract for the second phase of construction of a new girls dormitory at Gulu High School. The winning contractor is now on site and making rapid progress; walls are rising from the recently finished foundations. This project will utilize most of the funds raised for Gulu High from last year’s S4S tour.
The new dormitory will stand side by side with the existing girls dormitory completed under Round 2, with a third dormitory planned for 2010! When complete, the three new buildings will provide safe and modern living facilities for 576 female students. These dormitories have become S4S signature projects in the region, raising the bar for secondary school development in the North.
For those of you fundraising on the behalf of Gulu High, keep up the efforts—the girls are eager to move in!
And The Winners Are…
This pile of cash was made possible by the nice people at Ridge View High School
Last month’s matching campaign has officially come to a close and the winners are as follows:
San Ramon Valley High School
Exeter Area High School
Siegel High School
Ridge View High School
Each of these schools raised well over $2000 during the campaign, but it was Ridge View that brought home the title with an $8000 contribution. They have all been awarded an additional $500 towards their effort. This was only the warm-up though. Things have really started heating up this month thanks to the announcement of the Bonus Trip. There are only 28 days left until the December 1st deadline for the Bonus Trip, and 44 days until the whole thing is over, so the time has come to get down to business if you’re thinking about summering in Gulu.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
We aren't sure if they're holding up peace or victory signs
Aurora West High School is not messing around. They’re the first school to be featured on the blog twice, and for good reason. They dropped an amazing video last week about Jose’s experience on last year’s Schools for Schools trip (he’s the guy with the glove on in the photo above) and then they sent us this picuture of them in front of the 28,000 square foot volleyball court they installed for a fundraiser this week. Send pictures of your fundraisers and club meetings to us at schoolsforschools@invisiblechildren.com to let us know what you’re up to, and make sure you get that money post marked by December 1st if you want to be eligible for the bonus trip.
BONUS TRIP TO UGANDA
Watch this video immediately to find out how you can win a bonus trip to northern Uganda this summer. You have to act fast if you want in, but this could be your best shot at the trip of a lifetime.
Signed Twilight Books???
That's Stephenie Meyer's John Hancock right there
We’re auctioning off a set of signed of Twilight books. You heard us right and you know that you want them. You already have your New Moon tickets and your Bella and Edward costumes ready to go for this weekend , but what you don’t have is signed copies of the entire series. They’re in great condition and are each signed by Stephenie Meyer herself. She gave them to us last year, during the biggest book drive in history. You might have heard of it. The auction will be up for the next 10 days. All proceeds go to the Schools for Schools program, so don’t be shy with your bids. Thanks, Stephenie.
PS – check back when the movie hits theaters, we have a few more Twilight themed surprises for you
Facebook and Schools4Schools for World Peace
Check out peace.facebook.com. The social networking site is keeping track of how many connections it establishes between Albania and Serbia, Israel and Palestine, Turkey and Greece, and India and Pakistan. They are quantifying the social connections between regions of the world that have historically hated each other. They are hoping that the more we know about each other, the more we are exposed to the other, the more we will understand and the less we will fight.
AND, one of the programs they are featuring is Invisible Children’s Schools for Schools, because S4S bridges the gap between western kids and the kids of Northern Uganda. Yeah, we’re proud.
The largest social network in the world features Invisible Children. I’m so stoked I had to say it again.