Songwe area - PrimarySchool Visit

Early start, fantastic day visiting lots of local projects. This is what we came for!
To set the scene, school truancy is high in Tanzania. Root causes are lack of money for transport and school uniform, hunger, & high levels of Physically Humiliating Punishment (PHP). Songwe is one of the coffee growing areas. The school we visited has 741 students, and just 13 teachers - work out the scary average class sizes for yourselves. No running water. No computers. Just one solar panel provided by Save. Projects run by Save with money from Tchebo - German coffee manufactures - as part of their CSR programme include:

  • Speak Out (Tuseme) Clubs for volunteer students to discuss and present non-academic issues. E.g. As a result of the children speaking out about hunger, there is now a feeding programme in which involved parents provide food like maize and beans.
  • High-Performing Teacher Scheme - literacy boost, teaching aids, sharing better ways to engage students
Project benefits: PHP down, truancy down, concentration levels up, participation up, teacher satisfaction up. These people were just inspiring. So much more I could add, but this is just a taster!





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blogger's Diary - Preparation

Image
Sorting out clothes and trying hard to be minimalist! Need to display modesty in dress too, so normal holiday gear won't do. Hadn't realised how many of my tops have low necklines - ooops. Biggest issue is not knowing size of plane for internal flights and therefore if a suitcase can go in the hold. This affects the amount of liquids I can take, especially mossie spray. Also, how many pairs of shoes does a girl need for a week long trip? Not sure if my small denomination US$s will be accepted for Visa or currency exchange. May decide to buy more currency, so many dilemmas Which Suitcase, Which Carry-On? Choices, Choices!!!  😔
Read more

Zanzibar - Childrens' Rights

Image
Save the Children is working hard to protect the rights of children. We heard that 67% of boys and 56% of girls are thought to experience some form of physical violence, with the estimated figures for the incidence of sexual violence believed to be well understated. A number of projects have been developed to support the bringing of perpetrators to justice, but of course turning the tide is no easy task. A child friendly court has been set up in accordance with international guidelines; and a One Stop Centre established for the confidential reporting of cases of abuse. We visited these sites, and a Child Rights Centre where young people are encouraged to Speak Out.
Read more

Songwe - Womens' Economic Empowerment Project

Image
This final visit of the day was a truly heart-warming one. Women are being helped to take more control over their lives. Not with cash injections, but with financial training to run their own Savings and Loan Clubs. These people would never get credit anywhere else, but through the support provided they have managed to save, borrow, grow and sell their crops and most importantly reinvest in their households - simple things like being able to buy school uniform for the grandchildren, or pay their bus fares. This way lies longer term growth and sustainability for the whole economy. We met the whole committee, and what a joyful bunch of ladies they were too. At the end they had us all up singing and dancing with them!
Read more