Khadija is a student from one of our earliest cohorts of students sponsored through Project Wezesha. Khadija is the daughter of former Mgaraganza Village Chief, Bitata, who was instrumental in the founding of Project Wezesha back in 2009. Her brother Ashahadu and sister-in-law Janny have been generous hosts to Lucas, me and several of our volunteers and guests over the years.
It makes all of us very happy and proud to see Khadija in her newest role as an entrepreneur. With the support of Project Wezesha donors, Khadija was able to complete secondary school and then attend vocational school to earn a certificate in clerical studies. She completed internships in offices in Kigoma and Kasulu. Then for three years she made a brave move to work in Muscat, Oman through a family connection. Continue reading “Khadija – Kigoma’s Newest Woman Entrepreneur”
The day we first met Rabia (left of Rai) and awarded her a secondary school scholarship.
Rabia was selected as a Project Wezesha student due to her performance as a standard 7 primary school student years ago. She lived in a small village along Lake Tanganyika and attended a remote, under-resourced school.
We supported Rabia through secondary school, but she struggled due to the fact that all secondary subjects are taught in English and her proficiency level was at a beginner level. She began to improve in many of her courses and with her English when she started to participate in our bi-annual academic study camps. Nonetheless, she didn’t pass the national exams after Form 4, which would have given her the option of attending high school. For Rabia, that was ok. Her goal was to become a tailor and eventually become a business owner.Continue reading “Rabia – A Tailor in the Making”
The time has finally come for our first scholarship students to really spread their wings and take flight into higher education–they’re university-bound! We are so proud of Tumsifu, Dibeit and Saidi for completing Form 6 and doing well enough on their exit examinations to join universities in Tanzania.
Tumsifu and Dibeit at their Form 6 graduation ceremony.
Dibeit and Tumsifu are both interested in studying medicine. Their long-term goals are to become surgeons. In particular, they both shared their unique interests in maternal health care. It’s not surprising since they both come from small villages in Western Tanzania where the incidence of maternal and/or infant mortality are high. It has historically been difficult for women to get to the hospital to deliver their babies and when certain complications arise, even the best midwife loses patients. Fortunately, development is spreading in Tanzania, so transportation options are increasing from villages into town hospitals. Continue reading “University-Bound Project Wezesha Students!”
I had the great pleasure to spend part of May and June in Tanzania with our students and partners in Kigoma. I’m delighted to share some updates, stories, and photos. Please make sure to visit us on Facebook to see even more photos and videos! Continue reading “Summer Update – A Report from the Field”
Project Wezesha was founded when Lucas and I responded to a request for support from the chief of Mgaraganza village: Can you help us build a secondary school? Of we course we said yes, but we then had to come up with funds. We raised money little by little. But then – a miracle! Our miracle was Shelmina Babai and Minaz Abji. These two remarkable souls, born and raised in Tanzania and Uganda respectively, were set to marry. They desired nothing more from their wedding guests than contributions to Project Wezesha so we could construct Amahoro Secondary School. Their aim was to honor their fathers through this amazing gift. Continue reading “A Little Help From My Friends”
Through a series of random Facebook encounters, I met a man named Fritz from Germany who was making his way to Tanzania with his sons. He had spent time in Kigoma in the 80s and was now returning, with hopes of visiting Gombe National Park.
In time, we had arranged for Lucas to meet him and escort him to Gombe and take him to visit the school in Mgaraganza. After his visit, he said that the trip to the school and village was the highlight of his trip. He even had the opportunity to speak to the entire student body at Amahoro Secondary School. We are grateful to him for making the time to visit and speak with our students. Lucas was inspired by conversations he had with Fritz’s sons and we were touched when they made a donation upon leaving.
Happy New Year, Project Wezesha Supporters! We wrapped up 2016 with a really cool pilot project that we’re excited to tell you all about.
As most of you have learned through these reports, education in government village schools is readily available, but not always of the same quality as that experienced by the youth in urban government schools or private schools. The short list of reasons includes lack of support for ongoing teacher training, limited English proficiency of teachers and students, lack of educational resources (e.g., laboratories, textbooks, maps, technology), and long walking commutes to schools with no meals provided on site (i.e., hunger, diminished attention spans).
For quite some time, Lucas and I have puzzled over what we can do to build on classroom-based learning. For the past few years, we have been providing additional tutoring for our students between terms and after school, especially for those struggling in particular subjects. The students are always grateful, but it still didn’t seem like it was having enough of an impact. Students continued to struggle in classes and some weren’t finishing secondary school with marks high enough to get them into high school or vocational school. Continue reading “Launching an Academic Study Camp”
Happy Autumn to all of you! The leaves are turning in their brilliance here in Vermont, but back in Tanzania, rainy season is upon them – which means everything gets so lush and green!
Students are getting ready for their end-of-year examinations. Let’s just say there are some stressed students in our midst! These exams play a significant role in the lives of students in Tanzania – determining for some whether they will be able to attend secondary school, determining for others if they will continue to study at the secondary level, and determining for yet another cohort whether they will move from secondary school into high school. The stakes are high!
But in the spirit of Autumn, we’d like to celebrate that for which we are grateful. Lucas recently spent time traveling around and visiting some of our current students and their teachers to see how everyone is doing. Here are some highlights.
Ezekialshared his story with us. He said that he was born in 1997. He attended Mungonya Primary School in Kiganza, Tanzania and finished in 2012. He began secondary school in 2013 with the help of Project Wezesha and this year, he is completing Form 4. He is one of our high school hopefuls who will take the exam this month. We will get his results in December and find out if we can support him as he pursues studies through Form 5 and 6. Ezekial wants to be a doctor. He says that in Tanzania, many people die due to a shortage of doctors in the region. He wants to fill that gap and we want to help him do so!
Ezra
Ezraalso shared some thoughts with us. First, he says he thanks God because he was blessed to have a father who cares about him and education. When Ezra was young, he didn’t like studying. But his father gave him advice and highlighted the example of a cousin who did very well in school. With this cousin as a role model and his father as his mentor, Ezra studied with renewed enthusiasm. After his standard 4 exams, he was ranked second in his class. He was motivated to become the top in his class, so he studied even harder. Throughout the remaining years in primary school, Ezra was ranked first in his class. It was this ranking that landed him a spot in our scholarship program. He did so well on his O-level exams that he was sent to a boarding school in another region, where he studies Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. His dream is to become a doctor – with a rather specific focus on kidney problems. We love his focus and determination! He also takes his exit exams this month and we see a bright future in higher education ahead!
George
George, like Ezra, was inspired by a parent – but in this case, his mother. George saw how hard life was in the village and he saw how hard his mom worked to provide for him and his siblings. She encouraged him to study. He studied hard throughout primary school and succeeded in the exams to get into secondary school. His ranking as top of his class caught our attention. Life continued to be difficult for George through secondary school, however, because he had to walk a long distance. He later decided to move closer to the school – where he had to cook and care for himself. Fortunately for George, he did excel in secondary school – scoring high in Division 2 on his Form 2 exams. We expect an equally high result on his Form 4 exams in his track: Physics, Chemistry and Biology. George would like to be an Engineer, specializing in the Oil and Gas industry, and we’re proud of him for having tenacity and vision!
Prospective Students
As students graduate from our program, space opens for new students to join us. Lucas and our friend, Madaga – an amazing local educator – have started to visit local primary schools to scout for new students to join our program. They have created an assessment tool to do some initial screening. Once we get exam results from these recent Standard 7 graduates, we’ll be able to announce who is joining us. The photos of the young girls below are the faces of some of our potential new students. Join us in sending them hope as we await their results. We’ll soon let you know who will join us in January!
Asante Sana for all of your support. Please know that our work continues as long as there are children in need of education … i.e., forever! … or for as long as we have the capacity to do so. As you know, we can’t do this without donors who are willing to contribute to the cause. Now that secondary school fees have been waived by the president, we can focus on the critical costs of keeping students in boarding schools, buying text books, and funding support classes between terms.
Please share the work we do with friends and family (click the sharing buttons below) and of course, chip in when you can (click ‘Give Now’ here on our donation site). Let us know if you’d like to know more about how you can help.
With gratitude,
Rai Farrelly & Lucas Lameck
Co-Founders, Project Wezesha
in her newest role as an entrepreneur. With the support of Project Wezesha donors, Khadija was able to complete secondary school and then attend vocational school to earn a certificate in clerical studies. She completed internships in offices in Kigoma and Kasulu. Then for three years she made a brave move to work in Muscat, Oman through a family connection. Continue reading “Khadija – Kigoma’s Newest Woman Entrepreneur”
encounters, I met a man named Fritz from Germany who was making his way to Tanzania with his sons. He had spent time in Kigoma in the 80s and was now returning, with hopes of visiting Gombe National Park.
