During the Fall and Winter months of 2017-2018, a remarkable woman and educator, Kate, lived and worked in Mgaraganza Village as a volunteer with Project Wezesha. She taught English at Amahoro Secondary School, she taught during our December 2017 academic study camp and she lived with our dear friends Jane, Ashahadu, Mike and Sifa. She recorded her time in a blog entitled Life Under African Skies. Be sure to check it out!
While teaching at Amahoro Secondary School, Kate identified several challenges facing the students — some of them were harsh realities of life and learning in Tanzania, such as the situation with corporal punishment. Others are ones we can address more easily (buying textbooks, supporting teachers through workshops, etc.). Kate is a doer and her concrete goal was to raise $12,000 to purchase 320 desk/chair sets to furnish all classrooms at Amahoro Secondary School, which currently has a student enrollment of 500.
Kate struggled when seeing her students sitting on rocks and pieces of board, using their knees as a writing surface. She taught in this way for months, but then decided enough is enough.
At that point, she created the idea of a ‘chain of philanthropy’ encouraging individuals to simply purchase one desk/chair set at $35 and then ask a friend or family member to do the same, always passing the request along. Little by little, we raised enough money to purchase the first 150 desks and chairs which reached the school in two installments between April and May. The order for the next 75 is being worked on by the local carpenters as I type!
Of course, this is a huge game-changer for the students who now have a proper learning station – a place to set their notebooks and pencils, a seat that allows them to sit up straight and listen to the teacher without craning their necks or going numb in the legs.
We’re excited that the second round of 75 desks and chairs has been built and delivered to Amahoro Secondary School. In the pictures, you see them all seated at the desks in the assembly area, hearing speeches from the head master and preparing to move them into the appropriate classrooms.
We can’t thank Kate enough for organizing this fundraiser and rallying donors with a clever ‘chain of philanthropy’ approach – You buy a desk/chair set and ask a friend to do the same. Continue passing it along, and before you know it – we’ll have desks and chairs for all students at the school! At $35 per set, it’s very doable … one by one!
We are still $3500 shy of our goal. Is there anyone you can mobilize to purchase a desk/chair set? Don’t forget to ask them to pass it on. 100 more donations and we’re done! Donate here.
Thank you to everyone who has chipped in so far!
Don’t miss the picture of the students’ poster in which they thank the ‘donne’ … that’s you, donors — and of course, Kate (Katherine)!