BUILD Partners story is simple. One of our trustees, Revd Dr Jem Hovil, helped with BUILD’s research and development phase while serving with the Church of Uganda (COU) from 2000 to 2007. Jem moved to South Africa but remained involved with BUILD. On his return to the UK in 2013 the COU encouraged him and others to set up a UK charity to help serve the work as part of the BUILD family.
The great strength of BUILD is its local ownership and identity, with its genesis as a programme of the Church of Uganda rather than a separate organisation being central to that. BUILD Partners aims to encourage rather than undermine that local ownership and support. The structure of the BUILD family ensures that is the case, operating as it does with a flat structure in which BUILD Partners is simply another member, and neither a head nor a hub for the work.
However, with increased connectivity and opportunities for collaboration online, the UK arm is able to play a significant role as each member of the BUILD family plays its part. The evolving role of the UK entity has led to a set of priorities that serve the work, with an emphasis on contributing to partner budgets and connecting the network. Those priorities are described in more detail here.
