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Ogilvy UK, the branding and

communications giant, have committed

to raise funds to build a secondary

school in Uganda. Earlier this year,

the company agreed to partner with

International Needs and support the

school development project as part

of their corporate social responsibility

programme which they have called

‘Many Ogilvy Hands’.

The school will be built in a village called Buikwe in Uganda, a village where there is great need for education. In an initial trip to visit the site in May, three people from Ogilvy were introduced to the Buikwe community. They visited the site where International Needs has an existing primary school and plan to build the secondary school. The goals of the trip were two-fold. On a practical level, the Ogilvy team were able to meet the architect of the new school, they were also able to hear stories and gather case studies and photographs of individuals in the village to help communicate what life is like to colleagues in the UK. Secondly, the Ogilvy team was able to have a real cross culture relationship-building experience, learning from one another and having hearts and minds opened. This trip marked the beginning of a very fruitful journey.

"The Many Ogilvy Hands project is very important to our staff. They want to make a real difference to society in the work they do on behalf of Ogilvy. Building a school in Buikwe fully meets our brief. We will not just build a place of learning in Uganda, but we too will learn and grow from this richly rewarding partnership with the people of Buikwe", Gloria Gibbons, Board Director, Ogilvy UK

Ogilvy will be sending a number of staff volunteer teams to visit the project over the next five years. They will be able to see its progress and ‘get their hands dirty’ by physically helping to build the school at its various stages.

Through this project, Ogilvy are playing a massive part in the development of the whole community in Buikwe and beyond in Uganda. They will impact the lives of individuals, families and the whole community for the better.

The project will give Ogilvy the opportunity to get to know and understand a different community and culture in a real and deep way. It will provide an opportunity for team-building and personal staff development. It will boost their corporate image, setting a precedent for other large corporations.

The first volunteer team from the Ogilvy Group 'get stuck in' in Uganda.

Find out more...

Ugandan secondary school project begun