Operation GIVE BACK - a Global Education Project

This fundraiser is underway to support the completion of Bethel Model Primary Day and Boarding School, a small treasure tucked away in Buikwe, Uganda. I am Teeya Ramey, and during a recent visit to the beautiful Pearl of Africa, I had the privilege of touring and volunteering at this lovely school. Martin Elyanu is the current Director and founder of Bethel Model. During this visit, I was graciously met with kind smiles, warm greetings, plenty of food, and lots of love. Here, many families work in the fishing industry as well as the sugar plantation farms industry. Wages are challenging to obtain, and many families live below their means. This directly impacts children who wish to attend school and cannot due to the inability to pay. Other children face abandonment at the school, consequentially becoming the staff's responsibility.

In 2015, Mr. Elyanu decided to sell his home and use the funds to start the construction and teaching at this school to support the educational needs of community children. Since embarking on this journey, Mr. Elyanu has developed a school that provides education for children ages 3-15. Due to the rising number of students attending the school, the classroom size has increased. With this influx, more classrooms are needed to support these children. Currently, 133 children are utilizing three classrooms divided in half to create six spaces.

Currently, boarding students do not have sleeping quarters, and during sleeping hours, they share a small space in the back of the school's office. Often parents cannot afford to pay tuition, which directly impacts the school's development fund. Lack of funding has halted the completion of the construction of the school and dormitory. Another consequence of lack of funding is a lack of access to educational supplies, furniture, and staff.

Goal: With the support of friends, family, and community members, it would be an excellent opportunity to support this school’s continued development. The goal is to assist with the completion of a four-classroom block under construction, build a student dormitory for children residing at the school, a dormitory for teachers living at the school, other instructional technology, classroom materials, and clothing and toiletries for children in need.

Funds will be dispersed as such:

o 40% School – raw materials needed for the construction of the school to include: Cement, Paint/supplies, soil, galvanized sheets, iron bars, rocks etc.

o 20% Dormitories – Construction of rooms to house students that will board at the school. Raw materials needed for the construction of the school include Cement, Paint/supplies, soil, galvanized sheets, iron bars, rocks etc.

o 20% Educational materials and furnishings – Materials needed for instruction purposes include (but are not limited to): Whiteboards/Chalkboards, technology, pencils, crayons, notebooks, educational supplies for the classroom, teaching equipment, Student desks/chairs, bunk beds.

o 10% Student Humanitarian Fund – This fund supports students at the school. Including but not limited to clothing/uniform, socks/shoes, undergarments, blankets, pillows, and coats/jackets.