Ukoma Hutibika – leprosy is curable!

Solar power gives light for study


Helping children attain the education necessary to break the cycle of poverty is high on our agenda which is why we not only fund schooling, but also help make life a bit easier for students to complete their studies.

Studying in the evenings can be difficult in Kindwitwi because it gets dark at 6pm in Tanzania and most houses in Kindwitwi don’t have electricity.

To help address this we funded a library with solar panels. Students living at home can study in the evening there without the distraction of family life going on around them. A library is actually quite unusual in villages such as Kindwitwi, particularly as we have a complete set of secondary school text books to suite the national syllabus.

Our Centre manager Abdallah Nguyu says there is quite a culture now of kids going to the library to work.

The library in Kindwitwi

The library in Kindwitwi

Kindwitwi also has the only pre-school kindergarten in the whole district. We funded the training for two pre-school teachers and thanks to donations from the International School of Tanganyika it has expanded. Volunteers from Parmiter’s School in the UK also built a toilet block with a hand washing facility last year.

This kindergarten bucks the trend of education for kindergarten children in Tanzania; according to the recent fifth Uwezo annual learning assessment report which studied the state of education in Tanzania in 2014, the participation of children in public pre-primary schools remains low with signs of declining enrolment rates in recent years. Click here to read the full story.

All Kindwitwi children receive primary education at schools in the neighbouring villages of Nyanda or Katundu.

Children from families affected by leprosy who pass the secondary school exam receive support from the Rufiji Leprosy Trust to enable them to have the best chance possible to complete their secondary education. This alleviates pressure of an already poor family trying to find the money to educate their child. most of these children go to Utete Secondary School. Some children live at home, but it is better if they board as it’s an 8 mile walk each way and the children do have to be mindful of local wildlife – which has on occasions included lions and crocodiles!

It costs £100 a year for a child to board.

When Fr Robin, the founder of Kindwitwi was living here, he was keen for children to be educated. Click here to hear him talk about the importance of education and schooling in the village.

Some of the books available in the library

Some of the books available in the library

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