what we do
We use our network of professionals, with expertise of the built environment and education sectors to provide skills and transfer knowledge to enhance educational infrastructure across East Africa. We partner with like-minded organisations and individuals who share our values and aspirations to collaborate on projects. We are not a grant-making or donor organisation.
Our first major programme of action was the seven year development of Lake Bunyonyi Community School in Uganda into a self-sustainable institution. During this time, we worked closely with the school and surrounding community to enhance and expand their built infrastructure alongside income-generating activities to create financial stability.
why we do it
Richard Feilden's three overriding passions were Architecture, Education and Africa. As Founder and Senior Partner of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Richard was a tireless promoter of sustainable and innovative development. He was an enabler and had a passionate desire to make the world, and in particular Africa, a better place. He believed in the right to be educated and the value of better buildings and crucially the sharing of skills. This memorial foundation is determined to reflect these passions and uphold these values.
how we do it
We have professional volunteers who work with local partners on our projects. When a project is selected for collaboration using the mandate points below, we facilitate an appropriate project team who volunteer time and expertise towards the project. We have and continue to work with a range of architects, structural and environmental engineers, carpenters, builders, agriculturalists, teachers and other educationists to contribute to, develop and realise our projects.
Our mandate
In any work we engage with and any project we support we use the following criteria, will inform our ‘Engagement and Partnership Agreements’:
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That the organisations in Africa we work with share our values about sustainable architecture and a holistic approach to education provision
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That the organisations in Africa that we support and/or partner with have in place updated and secure safeguarding policies and can demonstrate that staff who work with children or vulnerable adults have received training in line with these policies
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That our engagement with partners in Africa is collaborative and that the learning for all parties is a shared objective
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That there is clarity about the offer of engagement from Richard Feilden Foundation and that the Foundation is realistic about what we can contribute to any partnership
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That we seek to engage in work with partners that is exemplar and can be modelled/adapted elsewhere
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That we are committed to the use of local labour and materials
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That our partners can make use of our contribution in a sustainable way for the longer-term future of their organisation
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That we have a clear exit strategy for any project engagement and this is fully understood by our partners
mission + objectives
Mission
Supporting communities in East Africa to deliver the educational aspirations they have for their people and to help with meeting those needs through the promotion of the design and construction of good, effective schools and other educational projects. We believe good buildings foster exemplary teacher/pupil relationships, and we work collaboratively with local communities, acknowledging and promoting local expertise and technologies.
We believe in providing opportunity for young architects to engage in projects which give them direct experience of working alongside other young people in Africa.
Objectives
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To encourage and support educational projects in Africa, and especially those requiring architectural input.
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Without prejudice to the generality of the above, to promote community involvement, and the use of African expertise and technologies in Africa’s educational and architectural development.
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To support other charitable organisations with similar objects to (1) and (2).
where we work
In 2004, Richard instigated Feilden Clegg Bradley’s first charity project, an HIV Training Clinic for Mzuzu University in Malawi. Shortly after his death, it was finished in his honour and named the Richard Feilden Clinic.
A year later in 2005, Richard’s wife Tish Feilden made a journey through Uganda, the country of her birth. Through the experiences she had, the people she met and the society she saw, Tish recognised that Uganda was the place to start building on Richard's legacy.
Today we continue to work across East Africa in Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and have expanded our work into other Sub-Saharan African countries.
who we are
Chairman of the Trustees
partners
Positive working relationships and doing things together makes us stronger!
Thank you to all our current and previous collaborators, partners, volunteers and supporters.
