We’ve officially built 3,000 schools across the globe! Discover how our movement grew from one school to 3,000, all powered by community, service, and the belief that every child deserves to learn in our new blog post.

3,000 Schools Strong. Thanks to you!

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November 20, 2025
buildOn Global
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Thirty years ago, Jim Ziolkowski left a job in corporate finance and traveled to Misomali, Malawi with a simple but ambitious belief: that education, built hand-in-hand with community, could ignite lasting opportunity. What he found in Misomali would change the course of his life and ultimately set in motion a movement that would transform thousands of communities and uplift millions of lives.

Today, that movement—the buildOn movement—has hit an incredible milestone: 3,000 schools built in partnership with communities all across the globe. And it all started with that one school in Misomali.

Where It All Began

Misomali was the place where buildOn’s story took root. The village had no school, but was determined to give its children a place to learn. Jim arrived with just enough funds to start construction and a deep desire to partner with the community. But the journey quickly became harder than he ever imagined.

Jim on the worksite of buildOn’s first school in Misomali, Malawi.
Jim on the worksite of buildOn’s first school in Misomali, Malawi.

As Jim battled a near-fatal case of malaria, the future of the project seemed uncertain. But one person refused to let the vision fade: Steven Tentani, Jim’s close friend in the village.

“I looked at Steven and I knew he was never going to give up,” Jim recalls. “He would not stop until we got the school built. So his courage became my courage.”

“He would not stop until we got the school built. His courage became my courage.” —Jim Ziolkowski

The people of Misomali worked hard to build buildOn’s first school.
The people of Misomali worked hard to build buildOn’s first school.

Together, they pressed on. Jim recovered from Malaria, and the first school in Misomali opened with 120 students. The spark was lit.

Twenty years later, when Jim returned to Misomali, he discovered something extraordinary. The single school he helped build had multiplied into five schools, each one built by the community and fueled by the belief that every child deserves a chance to learn. The initial 120-student class had swelled to over a thousand, more than half of them girls. 

Jim reconnected with Steven upon returning to Misomali.
Jim reconnected with Steven upon returning to Misomali.

The ignition effect extended beyond classrooms: Steven’s daughter, Ruth, became the first woman in her district to graduate from college after attending that very first buildOn school. After graduating, she returned home to teach in the very same school she attended as a child.

Steven’s daughter, Ruth, returned to Misomali after college to teach at the same school she learned in as a child.
Steven’s daughter, Ruth, returned to Misomali after college to teach at the same school she learned in as a child.

“Seeing Ruth go to college and coming back to the community to teach in the same school she attended makes me very happy and proud,” Steven reflects. “It also made me hopeful for this country.”

A Full Circle Moment in Chimbwanda

More than thirty years after breaking ground in Misomali, Jim’s vision came full circle.

In 2025, buildOn, along with Education Above All Foundation’s Educate A Child Program (EAC), partnered with the people of Chimbwanda, a rural community just a few hours from Misomali, to build school #3,000. Parents there had once constructed temporary shelters so their children wouldn’t have to walk seven kilometers to the nearest school. But rain leaked through the roof, floors turned to mud, and overcrowding made learning nearly impossible.

The community, like the thousands before them, was determined to create something better.

Working side by side with buildOn staff and supporters—including high school students from our U.S. programs—Chimbwanda built a permanent two-classroom school block with new toilets and durable desks. Enrollment has already jumped from 202 to 345 students, the school added two new grade levels, and absenteeism has dropped dramatically.

buildOn students from the U.S. helped build Chimbwanda’s new school.
buildOn students from the U.S. helped build Chimbwanda’s new school.

And for this milestone, something extraordinary happened: Steven and Ruth traveled from Misomali to help break ground on the building, passing the pickaxe from the first school to the 3,000th.

“It is my hope for these young girls to be like I am in the future,” Ruth shared. “This is just the beginning.”

Steven and Ruth (Center left and right) travelled to Chimbwanda to help break ground on buildOn’s 3,000th school.
Steven and Ruth (Center left and right) travelled to Chimbwanda to help break ground on buildOn’s 3,000th school.

“It is my hope for these young girls to be like I am in the future. This is just the beginning.” —Ruth Tentani

Ruth Tentani is a sterling example of the transformative power of education, as well as a mentor and inspiration to future generations of Malawian girls.
Ruth Tentani is a sterling example of the transformative power of education, as well as a mentor and inspiration to future generations of Malawian girls.

30+ Years. 3,000 Schools. One Movement.

30 years after helping to build buildOn’s first school in his home village, Steven Tentani helped build our 3,000th school.
30 years after helping to build buildOn’s first school in his home village, Steven Tentani helped build our 3,000th school.

What began with a single community in Misomali has grown into a global network of 3,000 schools, 396,000+ students, and 5.8+ million volunteer workdays, all fueled by people who refuse to give up on the power of education.

Children in Chimbwanda in front of their brand new school.
Children in Chimbwanda in front of their brand new school.

From Malawi to Nepal and Senegal to Haiti, thousands of communities have partnered with us to create a better future for their children. The impact on Misomali, on Steven and Ruth, has been multiplied thousands of times over across the planet. In 30 years, the spark of opportunity that was lit in one small African village has become a powerful global movement.

The Next 3,000 Starts Now

The children of Chimbwanda, like thousands of others before them, now have a safe, solid school building to learn in.
The children of Chimbwanda, like thousands of others before them, now have a safe, solid school building to learn in.

School number 3,000 is not the end of our story, but the start of the next chapter. Our movement has spread, carried forward by students, parents, educators, and partners who believe in building opportunity, one school at a time.

buildOn students and staff join hands with the people of Chimbwanda before starting a day’s work building our 3,000th school.
buildOn students and staff join hands with the people of Chimbwanda before starting a day’s work building our 3,000th school.

From one to 3,000, this movement has always belonged to the communities who build these schools and to everyone who stands in solidarity with them. And we thank you for being a part of it.

Want to help build the next 3,000 schools? Make a tax-deductible donation to support our work today.