The Uganda Community School Project

Phoenix, AZ Mom “kaay” Grosso is spearheading an amazing project in remote Nawantale, Uganda. Climate change, crop insecurity, HIV AIDS, malaria, and lack of energy education and training are her challenges. She invites solar, biomass and crop rehydration entrepreneurs to create the ground floor of new markets by introducing needed sales, maintenance, and product training at her 30 acre community school campus. Alternative energy and food rehydration businesses interested in becoming long term tenants at the school will create a pool of workers able to groom new markets as Ugandans search for dependable approaches to their challenges. Mom kaay wants global entrepreneurs to become villagers who will partner with her so the campus will be the biggest employer, best training tuition ROI for adult students, and most architecturally eco-unique conference center in Uganda.

Future Preschoolers, 2010

“It’s a sustainable project,” smiles Mum Kay. You can see her mind turning over the required pieces of the vision. First, she and Sammy Kawuzi, her bright, young Director from the village located 30 acres that the Project could buy. The village is at the equator, but 4,000 feet elevation, so the annual temperatures never fall below 65 F nor rise above 90 F.

Then, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, Taliesin, joined with Mom kaay. They are donating ALL the ecological designs for the 30 acre structures. “THIS!” says Mum, “is where the sustainability comes in.” The Nawantale Mountain Conference Center and Habitat, Culinary School, Library, Tenant Technical Training, High School, Arts and Music, Administration, Athletics and Science Buildings, Health Education Center and other structures will draw conferences, tuition-based programs, tenant training for energy business skills and Climate Change Certification Programs. The villagers are learning to run their unique community school. Mum smiles, “The Uganda School will create an economy to offset much of the dire poverty.” Here is the Taliesin team’s brick design for the campus Library:

Frank Lloyd Wright School Library, Nawantale Village, Uganda, 2010- needs a name! It can be YOURS!

The Frank Lloyd Wright designs will be built by villagers, and all the designs introduce safe, ecological construction practices to catch rain in cascading tanks and ponds, reduce reliance on wood, upgrade brick and masonry skills, introduce solar and biomass energy, and integrate edible landscaping, and climate change agricultural ideas for campus courses and visitors.
In three short years, villagers with teaching diplomas have taught English literacy under the trees, the Project sank a well for all the villagers on the campus land, the Project opened a modest library for villagers, put in a 6-computer training lab, hired over 13 villagers for needed jobs, elected a volunteer School Board and Elders Committee. Mum says, “We have had to rent a compound close to our land for these services, and the last year has been difficult in maintaining the needed tax deductible donations. The Uganda Community School Project, Inc. is an Arizona-based Tax Exempt, Non-Profit 501©3. Mom says, “We have brought together some of Arizona’s best creative volunteers in three years. Now, we are ready to build.”
First, will be a Montessori Preschool. Montessori programs are holistic and involve parents and the community in ways that will begin to turn around the effects of marginal education and crippling poverty in the most at risk families. “We are indebted to the SMFG Foundation of Phoenix for their

Maria Reed Montessori Schoolhouse Design – water catchment, natural lighting, solar ready, brick – 2010.

support, and the first Montessori Preschool complexes complete with gray water gardens, energy efficient kitchens, water catchment and solar ready roofing is in honor of the Founder of SMFG, Maria Reed.”
Consider the challenges for the underfunded government primary school that attempts to serve grades 1 through 7 for all the Nawantale children near Mom kaay’s campus:

Existing School for Primary Grades in Nawantale Village - 2010
Good News!

Mom kaay’s Uganda Community School Project has been awarded an Action Aid Uganda matching grant for construction of campus buildings this month! At this very moment, the Project is finalizing designs with the Frank Lloyd Wright School to present to Action Aid so decisions about which buildings to fund can be made. “We have passed all the anti-corruption hoops, bank transparency requirements, and management expectations that Action Aid (Bill Gates money) asked from us,” beams Mum kaay. “They actually came to us; Uganda knows we’re here and we are reliable, thanks mostly to Sammy Kawuzi. He is a miracle worker!”
Want to become a villager? Mom and Sammy want you to join the Donors as Villagers Program today! Membership is $120 minimum donation and the Program is now open for new members. Join before July 2010, and each member name, corporate donor, family, or business who joins will receive their tax deduction letter, online newsletters for a year, and Nawantale (pronounced na – wan’- tal- ey) Village Report about the “Feed, Read, and Lead” goals of the Project. “And, best of all,” says Mum, “the most generous Donors as Villagers Program contributor from today until July 4th, 2010, will provide the name for the fabulous Taliesin-designed Library!

Want to groom a market for your energy or food security business? Mom wants to talk with you about becoming a training tenant. “People are wrong to think that new markets are not here in Uganda. Africans do have money, but they wish to spend it on alleviating their food insecurity, and ways to create new jobs as farming in this area is getting harder due to climate changes,” Mom says. “We have a huge market for biomass cookers as charcoal becomes scarce and deforestation runs its course. The school wants to train for these changes, and create markets for information as well as products. Solar power is the only way to go out here where the sun is so constantly reliable.” Mom kaay has already established her project as a welcomed business/and educational project in Uganda’s eyes. Construction grants have been awarded to the project after only three years of operation, and her vision makes sense. Want to talk more about how the Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture School designs and the Uganda Community School are ready for your creative energy or food security know-how?
Please call Mom at 602-952-2490. Or, email Mom kaay at Nawantale@yahoo.com. Write to her at the Uganda Community School Project - 5838 W. Olive Avenue - Suite C105-280, Glendale, AZ 85302. Donate online at www.nawantale.org.
“Mwebale innyo! Thank you!”