In 2014, Green Waters Foundation made a donation of Tshs 812,000 (EUR 400) to Better Nation Foundation in Tanzania, for the purpose of buying school syllabus books for the poorest primary schools. The beneficiary of our donation has been Mfolony Primary school, which is a government primary school in Nkoarisambu division in Arumeru District Council.
In selecting the school, Better Nation Foundation worked together with the District Education Officer of Arumeru district and chose this school because it had absolutely no books.
The School has a total population of 576 pupils from class one right to class seven, of which are 311 male and 265 female pupils. At the same time the teaching staff in the school are 12 in numbers, including the head teacher. Therefore, the ratio at Mfolony Primary school is 1 teacher to 48 pupils.
It location is in the deep interior, where infrastructure is extremely poor, which makes it impossible for potential donors to reach it. As a school, Mfolony has been registering poor academic results for several years and based on the analysis, which was done by BNF, it was discovered that there are many issues that contributes to the situation. The lack of books is the main reason.
During the research, it has been discovered that most primary school in Tanzania lack all the necessities required for learning. Among other things this includes syllabus books required for their learning and desks to sit on and do their work. Pencils, pens, school uniforms and school bags are possessed by a few, and the children willingly share with each other. Larger problems, including toilet facilities, clean drinking water sources, electricity and having enough teachers are a challenge for many establishments.
Considering education is the foundation for development, we have to ask ourselves where these children will be in 10-20 years. If one doesn't posses the tools to learn and acquire knowledge, is it realistic to expect fair competition in the global economy? What actions can we take to mitigate potential risks for these children?
Green Waters would like to invite your opinion on the subject, and even more we would like you to consider how you can make a difference.
We thank Better Nation Foundation Team for their hard work, which improves the challenging conditions of our children.