SCHOOL IS OPEN!!!
CREATE FOUNDATION & ACADEMY
Communities Rising, Evolving & Achieving Through Empowerment
PROGRESS UPDATES
Since Create's inception in 2017, we have been making steady progress towards our goals! Despite the pandemic and numerous lockdowns here in Uganda, we have accomplished so much over the last couple of years thanks to our community of supporters! We couldn't have made it this far without you, and we know that by coming together we can make it all happen!
Check out our milestones below!
May 2024: Classroom Furniture & Decor!
Our first classroom is almost ready!!!! We are so excited to see our classroom come to life!!! We brought in and assembled the tables and chairs, wall art, borders, play mats, white board and more!
The children of the local village are always so excited to see us doing work/adding things to the school. They are so anxiously awaiting the opening. So they of course, had to come and check out the classroom! They love it!
These sweet, adorable children right here - NOT ONE of them is currently enrolled in school because their families cannot afford school fees. Our tuition-free school will be life-changing for them! Just a few months away from opening, and we can't wait! They deserve the opportunity to go to school. Every child does.
February 2024: Playground installation and completion!!!
In February of 2024 we began and completed the school's playground!!! The playground features two sets of swings, slides, a playscape with tunnel and a seesaw. After transporting the equipment from Kampala to our campus, we had our team assemble and safety install it into the ground.
Once it dried, we had an official unveiling and invited all of the children from the local village to come and play. They absolutely LOVE it!!! They played all day and were beyond excited. This is a dream come true for so many!!! Thank you to our donors for making this possible!
December 2023: Christmas atCreate!
This December we threw a Christmas party for the people of the local villages and surprised the children with Santa!!! He gave them small gifts, they sang, played (the kids were obsessed with Santa and were chasing him around all day!) thanks to one of our amazing workers for dressing up! We cooked food for everyone, and everyone got to sit and eat, listen to Christmas music, dance and of course play some football! So many people showed up that we had to run out and purchase more food! The local people also pitched in and brought plates for us to use as we don't have any yet for the school! It was a beautiful, joyous day and the children and their families were so happy and grateful! We hope to do this every year! It fills our hearts with so much joy to see our campus full of children and community - it's what we have always envisioned!
June 2023: Plumbing of campus
In June 2023 our team plumbed the entire campus! This began with digging where the water lines would be laid, purchasing the piping and equipment, then connecting the lines to our well (where water will eventually be pumped up to the entire campus via solar power/electric pump), and connecting all sinks and toilets, etc.
We then purchased one extra large and three large water tanks, which will be used for water reserves so that enough water is always available for all sinks, toilets and showers on campus. The team then constructed stands and a water tower and installed the tanks.
June 2023: Medical Centre is complete!!!
Our Medical Centre was completed in June 2023. The Centre features a waiting area, two examination rooms and a storage room. The Medical Centre will have a Board Certified nurse on premise at all times to care for ill/injured students, and the space will double as a FREE community care clinic for the people of local villages outside of school hours.
April 2023: Medical Centre Construction close to completion!
January 2023: Construction begins on the Medical Centre!!!
The New Year got off to a great start for us!! We began the construction of the final structure on our campus - the Medical Centre!!!
This medical facility will not only have a full-time nurse on staff to care for ill/injured students, but will double as a COMMUNITY medical clinic- where a board certified doctor will be available on weekends and outside of school hours to provide people of local communities with FREE, quality medical care! How amazing is that!?
We are so proud and excited to be able to offer this on our campus! There are no adequate medical centres nearby to serve people of local communities and so this will be a welcome and necessary change for the people of Madu Village and surrounding areas!
This is the FINAL major structure on our campus! We are getting so close!!!! If you'd like to help us finish our school so that we can open our doors and begin to offer children in need the opportunity to go to school FREE of charge, please visit the link below to make your tax-deductible donation!
December 2022: Bathrooms are close to completion!
The Medical Centre is coming along nicely! The roof was constructed a few weeks back, the doors and windows have been installed, the floors have been poured, and now we are on to plastering!
The interior of the building has already been plastered, and the team is currently working on the exterior. It should be completed in the next few days, and then painting and installing the tile floors!
We are so excited for all of this amazing progress! It is thanks to our incredible community of supporters! To every single person who has helped us to get to this stage, THANK YOU!!!!
We have just a little ways to go from here! After the Medical Centre, we need to buy and install water tanks/plumbing, solar panels, the playground, the security post and then furnish the classrooms, dining, and medical centre! If you'd like to help, please consider making a donation!
The school's restrooms are now close to completion!
So far, our construction team has built both the boys and girls restrooms - each of which will consist of three bathroom stalls, two sinks, mirrors and a storage closet. The Team has recently completed plastering the entirety of both restrooms, have installed the windows, the masons have worked on the ceilings and finishings and constructed the septic tank. Our plumber is on site this week working on the plumbing, and the welders are installing the safety railings for the entry ramps on each side. By week's end, we will begin tiling the restrooms, and when that is completed, we will paint the interior and exterior and install the bathroom doors, toilets, sinks and mirrors.
We are so pleased with the progress! As are the children of the local villages! They are anxiously awaiting the completion of their school and have been coming by often to take tours and observe the progress! They are so excited to see their school being built before their eyes. They love being here and have already made themselves right at home! These are our future students and we are working hard to complete this work so that we can open for them soon! They deserve the opportunity to go to school! Every child does!
October 2022: Construction of School's Bathrooms have begun!
Exciting News!
The second week of October we began construction on the next structure on our campus!
Here in Uganda, restrooms aren't usually located inside the same buildings as classrooms. Instead, a separate building is allocated for them. So to follow the requirements for our campus here, we are constructing the restrooms slightly behind the classroom block.
We hired some people of the local village to slash/clear the land to get it ready, and then our Engineer and his team came and measured, mapped and marked the area and the following day we began bringing in the construction materials. They began digging the foundation the following day.
Everyone is working hard, and each day there is a ton of new progress to see!
September 2022: Kitchen & Dining Hall painted and completed!!!
Our school's kitchen & dining hall are now almost complete!! The team worked through most of September completing all the finishings/moldings and preparing for painting.
The exterior of the kitchen has now been painted, and the Team is working on finishing the inside of the kitchen, the storage room and also the support poles of the dining area.
Work will be finished within a few days. We are also prepping to begin the next structure - the school's bathrooms! We have a team of local people slashing and clearing the area so that we can begin construction the first week of October!!!
We have raised some funds towards the bathrooms, but do not have enough to complete the building. And so, we will buy as many materials as our current funds allow, and build up to the point where that will take us! If you'd like to help us be able to complete this very critical part of our campus, please visit the following link to make your tax-deductible donation:
August 2022: Classroom Block finishing & Roofing on Kitchen/Dining Hall
Things are progressing swiftly here at Create!! We are pleased to announce that our Classroom Block is now FINISHED!!! After many months of hard work it is now complete! It is a bright and beautiful building, and is going to be a truly welcoming place for the children of the local villages to learn and grow!
And thanks to a very generous donor, our school's Dining Hall went into construction last week! The team quickly built the foundation, began working on installing the metal support poles, roofing and are now installing the tile floor!
The Dining Hall is a large covered outdoor eating space attached to our Kitchen, where all meals for the students and staff will be prepared. The students will enter, go to the serving window where they will collect their trays filled with delicious, healthy food, and proceed to the dining area to eat with their classmates.
We are so excited for this momentum! Things are moving along quickly, and we have just a few more structures to build before we are able to open our doors. We are hoping to open Create Academy in late 2023!
June 2022: Construction on School's Kitchen Begins!!!
Exciting news here at Create!!!
We BROKE GROUND on the school's kitchen today!!! We are so thrilled to be moving steadily along with the construction of our campus! The kitchen is where all meals for our students and staff will be prepared. It will be attached to a large covered dining hall.
The construction of the kitchen should take approximately one month and will be ongoing as the painters are painting the interior/exterior of the classroom block!
Things are done a bit differently here, but trust the process- you see how good our classroom block looks!
June 2022: Classroom Construction Almost Complete! Plastering/Finishings/Painting
We are delighted to share that our Classroom Block is almost complete!!! After many months of hard work, our construction team is nearing the finish line!
Last week, the team finished the plastering of the entire building, and was focused on the small details/finishings and preparing it for the next step: painting!
We recently tested out paint samples for the exterior of the building and found a winner!
The painters have been on site since Monday and have begun the painting process! The entire job should be completed in the next 3 weeks!! We are so excited to share the big TRANSFORMATION with you soon!!!
November 2021: Classroom Construction Begins!!!
FINALLY! After so much waiting, delays, setbacks, meetings, payments, recommendations, permits, and frustration..... we have FINALLY BEGUN OUR CLASSROOM CONSTRUCTION!!!!! Thank you so much to everyone who helped us to get here! We are SO excited this happening!!!!
We are also happy to share that we have made sure our Engineer and contractors have hired people of the local village to work at the site as well, so besides helping us to build our classrooms, you have helped to provide people in need jobs as well!
June/July 2021: Excavation and Preparation for Construction
In June, Create hired people of local villages to help clear the land and prepare it for construction. We then brought in an excavation crew that excavated the entire of our property so that it is leveled and ready for construction of the structures.
We then began bringing in building materials - sand and stone from Mukono which will be used to construct the foundation of the classrooms. We also constructed a temporary Askari House (house for our Security Guards) and a latrine for the construction workers. We also purchased a shipping container to store construction materials, which will be later be converted into the Sick Bay.
October 2020: Construction of Clean Water Well!
We are so thrilled to share this news with our supporters! Thanks to a very generous donor, our Water Well project was fully funded and completed!
This Well will not only provide clean, safe drinking water for our school, but we are sharing it with thousands of people of local villages who currently have no access.
Nearly 80% of Uganda’s 45 million people live in small towns and rural areas, and roughly 2/3 of them lack access to safe water. Poor sanitation worsens the problem. Waterborne diseases and infant mortality are widespread.
This Well will undoubtedly CHANGE the lives of thousands of people living in local communities! We are so happy to be able to provide clean water to the people of Madu and surrounding villages. Every human deserves it.
September 2020: Drainage System Complete!
With our road complete, the next step was to construct a drainage system. As most roads in Uganda are made of dirt, it is customary to construct drainage ditches on both sides of a road to allow water to safely run off.
Shortly after completing our road, we were able to raise enough funds to complete our drainage system! As soon as the funds were raised, our construction crews got to work. The job was completed on August 25, 2020.
Now, heavy rains will send water running along ditches beside the road, instead of flooding and damaging our "Road of Hope"! This will allow easy access all the way through this remote area to our school no matter what the weather condition!
August 2020: Construction of the "Road of Hope"
We are pleased to announce that our construction crew has completed the road to our school, which we have named the "Road of Hope"! Where was once thick brush with zero access, now stands a road that stretches kilometers all the way from the village to our school land! The local children even came out to check out our progress!
Thanks so much to everyone who donated to help make this happen!! We are so grateful!
Next up, we need to work on building ditches on both sides to allow water run off for when it rains so the road is passable and a security fence on the perimeter of our land!
January 2020: Official Groundbreaking on the project
On January 27, 2020 Create Foundation broke ground on our school in Uganda, Create Academy.
Create Foundation’s team in Uganda gathered together at the site where our school will be constructed for our groundbreaking ceremony. Dozens of local families who reside in the surrounding villages came to celebrate this special moment with us. We were thrilled to be able to meet and connect with them. Many of their children do not attend school because they cannot afford to send them, and they expressed their heartfelt joy and gratitude for a school which will inevitably change the course of their children’s lives. They are now filled with HOPE. We were so touched by their warm welcome and excitement for the changes which Create will provide to their area in the near future.
After spending the majority of 2019 fundraising and spreading the word about our mission to empower the youth of rural Uganda through education, Create Foundation purchased two acres of land in the remote region of Nakasajja. Currently, there are very few schools in this area, and none of which provide a tuition-free education.
Create Academy will fulfill a critical need. Building this school will create opportunities and change the lives of some of the poorest communities in the world. Not only will the school benefit the hundreds of children it will serve, but it will empower members of local communities through job opportunities, adult education courses and outreach initiatives.
The Chairman of the village joined us for this special occasion to offer his blessing and vowed to support and work closely with our organization to ensure the success of Create Academy. We are so grateful to have his support, and look forward to forging a close and long-lasting relationship with the village Council.
This school is about so much more than just providing an education, it is about empowering and supporting a community that really needs and deserves this. We are not here to just educate and leave. We are here to actively engage local communities and EMPOWER them with valuable knowledge and skills that will enable them to progress in society.
We are so thrilled with the progress, and would like to thank all of our supporters who helped us to reach this important step. Without you, this would not be possible! We have landscapers clearing the land as we speak so that in the coming months we may move forward with construction!
September 2019: Purchased land for Create Academy Campus!
In September 2019 Create Foundation purchased two acres of land in Madu Village near Nakasajja, Mukono, Uganda! Madu Village is a rural area located in Central Uganda with very few schools in close proximity. Our school will provide children in need the life-changing opportunity to have an education - free of charge!!