What Did Your Education Cost?

You probably don’t often think about how much your elementary education cost. I know I don’t. So, I was intrigued when I received an email from a representative from Building Tomorrow with a link to an online calculator to see the cost of my education.

I was even more intrigued when the calculator told me that the cost of my 1st-7th grade education in New Jersey was $70,526, and for that amount Building Tomorrow could provide 202 kids in Uganda with a basic primary education.

Wow.

What is Building Tomorrow?

Building Tomorrow is an international social-profit organization that encourages philanthropy among young people by raising awareness and funds to build and support educational infrastructure projects for under-served children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Building Tomorrow works with students at over 20 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and Canada. They purchase land in Uganda, and the with the help of the local community, build schools. Each school is equipped with seven classrooms, an office, a library, meeting space, toilets and a soccer field and has classroom space for 325 students.

Today, Building Tomorrow has opened five primary academies in Uganda and has classroom space for over 1,750 students.

How Can You Get Involved?

Whether you are a parent, student, a teacher, a young professional, or just someone who wants to make a difference, there is something you can do. You can:

• Spread the word
• Make a donation
• Create a fundraising page
• Volunteer

If you have school-age children, you can also encourage your child’s school to participate in Sit for Good, a K-12 service-learning campaign that is used in schools as a way of teaching students about philanthropy, the educational inequalities in our world and sub-Saharan Africa.

There are a lot of other ways to get involved. I’m helping to spread the word, and at the very minimum, I will be aware how fortunate I am, and my kids will be, to have such easy access to education.

So…how much did your grade school education cost?

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