Africa School for the Arts & Sciences
ASAS uses STEAM learning to prepare secondary school students for the challenges and possibilities of the future while preserving and celebrating East Africa’s rich artistic expression.
Only 1 in 4 Ugandan youth attend secondary school.
Fewer than 11% graduate.
Co-Founder Micheal Mpyangu’s vision…
To provide a practical, future-oriented education…
Using hands-on STEAM projects to train students for living wage jobs in the modern economy and prepare them for higher education.
To preserve local communities’ artistic traditions…
By employing elders as mentors for students and providing fellowships for local artists.
To advance gender equity and empower girls…
By reserving half of the spots for female identifying students and seeking parity at all level of school leadership.
To address the national teacher and facility shortage…
By partnering with the local teaching college to train teachers at ASASM and by setting up satellite schools around Uganda.
To serve as a center for community life…
By hosting performances in two amphitheaters, evening courses for adults, and opening our library and technology center to students of all ages.
Read more here.
Africa School for the Arts & Sciences (ASAS) aims to build secondary education sites throughout East Africa, starting in Mbale, Uganda.
Progress
Phase #1: Design and Planning
After inheriting land in his home village, Micheal Mpyangu wanted to give back. He met with local leaders. They were clear; they needed a high school. He recruited Ugandan and American professionals to bring the project to life, including Seth Wachtel, an architecture professor, and Rolf Bell, the former West Coast Director for Habitat for Humanity International.
Phase #2: Advance Team
In February 2023, an advance team of construction professionals arrived in Uganda to lay the groundwork for the summer build. They hosted a groundbreaking ceremony, attended by over 400 people, made contact with key material suppliers and government officials, and excavated the foundations for the first buildings.
Phase #3: Summer 2023 Build
High school and adult volunteers from Hayward, Oakland and Berkeley (California, USA) partnered with Ugandan construction workers to lay the foundations, build 11 trusses, and form over 14,000 bricks. By summer’s end, the international team had completed the first classrooms and a cistern for running water.
ASAS, Mbale hopes to welcome its first class of students
at the beginning of 2026!
Expansion
Once our first campus is completed (projected 2027), we aim to expand into the rest of Uganda, and then throughout East Africa. Our next slated location is in Jinja, which lies about 90 miles from our current location.
As we build additional physical campuses, we also aim to construct a digital Khan Academy-style learning platform to supplement the learning of students in remote villages across the East African Community (EAC) region.
ASASM - First Campus (In-Progress)
Second Campus (Jinja) (Planned)
Future Physical Campuses (planned near pop. centers)
Planned digital learning partners (in rural villages)
