School of the future, Arusha region

An estimated two million children between the ages of 7 and 13 have no access to primary education in Tanzania; access to preschool education is even lower. There are about 170 children for every qualified teacher. The lack of early education means that children, especially in rural areas, are ill-prepared to start school.

Many school children lack basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic despite attending school.

The Arusha region is located in northeastern Tanzania. Here, a large number of children live in difficult and poverty-stricken conditions. As their parents have to work during the day in order to earn at least a small living, they are also unable to look after their children.
In order to help these children and at the same time to develop the community as a whole, help alliance wants to build an innovative school center in the Arumeru district in the Arusha region.

Already in 2018, our local partner organization started a project to help young children prepare for school. The parents of many children are unable to help them prepare for school or even support them, as they have to work in the fields or in other towns and are unable to take care of their children. For those who cannot be supported from home by their families, Rays of Love was created to ensure that children in preschool not only learn math and English, but also engage with socially important issues such as sustainability.

However, the existing facilities are not sufficient for the children, and a new school needs to be built. The project partner will soon acquire a plot of land for this purpose. The plans for the new building have already been drawn up.

In the three-year preschool, 240 children will be taught. The elementary school comprises grades 1-7, each with 80 students. However, the project aims to have a much broader impact, as it is intended to become a pilot project for a school of the future in Tanzania.

Rays of Love no longer has enough space for the high and growing demand for preschool places in the Arusha region. It is important to move the children to another complex because in the current building the classrooms are very limited, there are no proper indoor and outdoor areas and only a minimum of hygiene is possible. In addition, the building is in a desolate and dilapidated condition: the roof leaks, there are no proper windows, mold eats through the rooms in many places.

Therefore, a new building has to be constructed on a new plot of land that meets the requirements. But not only the preschoolers shall find a new home there, but the preschool will be complemented by a school complex for children from 5-14 years (elementary school).

At the heart of the project is the Montessori-based integrative learning concept, which will be applied in both the three-year preschool and the elementary school for grades 1 to 7 for children with and without disabilities. While in Tanzania frontal teaching and memorization is still the standard, the concept aims to use the natural childlike curiosity and to bring it into the learning process. In this way, the children are strengthened in their development and independence from an early age and their talents are encouraged. Through the integrative approach and the joint learning of children with and without disabilities, stigmas are reduced and a basic acceptance for people with disabilities in the community is created. The education offered at the schools is supplemented by an after-school care program in which the children receive all-round support and can develop their talents. For those children who live far away or cannot live at home for other reasons, there will be an additional option to live on the school grounds in a boarding school building.

It will be the first “green school” in the Arusha region, teaching children about the environment, sustainability and environmental responsibility. All materials needed for play, workshops, etc. will be made from natural materials (e.g. wood, cotton, clay, etc.) if possible. An integrated school garden teaches the children to treat nature with care and the children and their parents an awareness of healthy eating. At the same time, the school ensures long-term self-sufficiency in fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, the topics of waste avoidance, upcycling and recycling as well as the conscious use of energy are taught in the school.

The schools curriculum is complemented by an after-school care program, in which the children not only receive support in the afternoons, but are also well accommodated.

Because the fact is that many parents have to work until the afternoon or evening, and knowing that their children are well looked after after the regular school day and that they don’t spend their free time on the streets, also reassures the parents.

Our goal is to create a pilot project of what the school of the future could look like in Tanzania.

With your support we would like to build the whole integrative school complex including the preschool and the elementary school and the boarding school building.