The Problem: Tanzania has an established education system in which 2/3 of the children pay to go to school while 1/3 of the children, most of whom are orphans or come from low-income families, have free public education. While this system has been effective in offering children an excellent education, the 1/3 of those who cannot pay to go to school must travel to other communities far from their homes to attend school for free because of the limited resources in their communities. Although the construction of St. Timothy’s boarding school has already begun, the community has not been able to complete the school due to lack of funding.

How our project will solve this problem: Nourish International and Mama Hope, a local non-profit in Tanzania, are working together to increase education opportunities. By assisting with the completion of St. Timothy’s boarding school, all children in the community will benefit from having a school located in the center of town rather having to spend hours traveling to another community. This school will have six classrooms, an indoor and outdoor kitchen, along with several other rooms that will provide all students with a high quality education and living space. The Nourish team will work directly with St. Timothy’s Headmaster, James, to plan and implement the construction of these new classrooms and features. During our six-week project, we will communicate with the members of the community and address their needs with the resources we have. We need your help in raising the funds to increase our impact on the community as a whole.

Long-term impact of the Project Not only will a new school benefit the students who can’t afford to pay for their education, but it will also benefit the other schools in the area by decreasing class sizes. Thomas Veazey, a representative from the Mama Hope organization, said, “even though Tanzania has an established education system, the classes have 70 children in each room.” By adding six classrooms, a nursery, and two additional administration buildings, the class sizes will decrease and the individualized attention on each student will dramatically improve the quality of education each student receives.