Longido Area Schools
Project Background
In northeastern Tanzania there lies a cluster of small villages undergoing an eight-year-long drought. The drought severely impacts the primary source of income in the region, cattle farming, resulting in many families leaving the village due to malnutrition or loss of income. This area has 7 comprehensive schools and accounts for over 5000 pupils. Despite an estimated 100 disabled children in the area, very few attend school due to the schools’ lack of expertise, equipment, and teachers trained to accommodate them. With the current stigma and shame surrounding the disabled in the community, many disabled children are left out of school without access to proper education or communication skills. While teachers have expressed keen interest in specialized training, only 16 have received it due to resource and funding constraints. This lack of resources also extends to IT training and equipment, something deeply needed in the community.
The Ngoswak School Meals Project
Ngoswak School, part of the Engarenaibor Area schools, lacks running water and suffers from poor sanitary conditions. The absence of food during school days reflects the overall lack of well-being in the community, and the drought exacerbates the consequences. Our initiative, starting in 2017, aimed to address this by securing funding for school meals. In 2018-2019, regular meals were provided, leading to a doubling in student enrollment from approximately 350 to 720, including about one dozen disabled children.
Our project revealed the community’s eagerness to support disabled children’s education and increase the quality of education for all students. However, this influx of students has resulted in overcrowded classrooms, with nearly 100 pupils per teacher.
Due to the inability to maintain funding for the project, the School Meals Project has been paused, and the community can feel the difference. Our current goal is centered around the need for clean water in Ngoswak. Not only is it essential in itself, but it will contribute to the implementation of irrigation and fertilization systems and play a role in better sanitation services. The objective is for the community to become self-sufficient and have the skills and resources necessary to combat the effects of the drought.
