Primary School Education

The main objective of our education project in the Kingiti Primary School is to provide all children from families unable to support them with the means to gain an education.  Though there is no tuition for primary school enrollment, the costs of the necessary clothing and supplies often prevent orphans and the children of the poorest families from gaining what is the equivalent of an elementary and middle school education.  Primary school is where the children of Kingiti are taught Tanzania’s national language, Swahili (Kigogo is spoken in the home), and it is also where they learn all of the other essential subjects necessary for a child hoping for a future with options beyond the village.

It costs approximately $12 a year to support a child in primary school.  This includes a uniform, shoes, school supplies, and medicine for times of sickness throughout the year.  We are in our third year of implementation with the primary school project and we are currently funding 30 children in the first through third grades.

Secondary School Education

Gaining a secondary school education is a Tanzanian student’s first big step to achieving their goals, and, much like a high school diploma or GED in the US, few doors open without it.  It is the level of education that all children in villages like Kingiti aspire to achieve, though most do not have the opportunity to pursue.  This is due to a gross lack of secondary schools in rural villages throughout the country.  The nearest secondary school to Kingiti is in a small town called Kibakwe, and, with the unavailability of transportation, it is beyond the reach of most of the village’s finest students.  This distance requires the family to be able to afford lodging in one of Kibakwe’s student hostels, in addition to tuition and supplies, in order to enroll their child in the Kibakwe Secondary School.  Sending a child to the Kibakwe Secondary School costs just over $200 per year, which is approximately the average annual income for the farming households of Kingiti.  As a result, most families in this village cannot afford a secondary school education for their children.

In 2009, our first year of the education project, we managed to sponsor three of Kingiti’s finest primary school graduates- Alberto Kuhoga, Xavery Malama, and Alfonzina Suluti.  They have all succeeded in their first two years of secondary school studies, and began their third year with confidence in January of this year.  Alfonzina is the first of her siblings to attend secondary school and has been commended for her work ethic by all of her teachers.  Xavery Malama and Alberto Kuhoga were chosen for these scholarships for their high marks at the Kingiti Primary School.  Alfonzina’s Mother, Xavery’s parents, and Alberto’s guardians would not have been able to provide a secondary school education for their children without the funding from this project.  In 2010, we were able to fund the enrollment of two more Kingiti Primary School graduates into the Kibakwe Secondary School.  Mariamu Said and Benitho Kujela were selected by project directors Laithon Mvili and Stanley Muhede as the two applicants most likely to succeed in their pursuit of secondary education and they have made us all very proud.  January 2011 has marked the beginning of their second year at the Kibakwe Secondary School and their teachers and hostel directors have reported them to be exemplary students.

In order to secure funding for the coming years of secondary school education for those students already enrolled in our scholarship projects, and due to a lack of new funding, we were forced to not enroll any new secondary school students in 2011.  We hope to continue this project with secure funding and new donors allowing for additional students in 2012.

Village Health Outreach

The Village Health Outreach project is in its beginning stage of development and will be launched later this year.  This project’s main objective is to facilitate the provisions for basic healthcare in Kingiti, as provided by a locally trained health worker from the village.  Kingiti currently lacks a medical outlet to provide treatment of any kind to those in need, therefore villagers suffering from some of the ubiquitous conditions that afflict Sub-Saharan populations are forced to travel in order to receive consultation or care.  Many are too weak to travel to district clinics, or cannot afford the cost of transportation, and, as a result, do not obtain the basic, often life-saving treatments, easily available to people in town. 

This project will consist of three primary components:  a) Maternal and infant health, b) the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections, intestinal parasites and STIs as supervised by a local physician, and c) advocacy for those in the village suffering from HIV/AIDS.  Central to the maternal and infant health component will be the supervision of all pregnancies by a female medical appointee, provisions for prenatal care, assistance during labor and delivery, and emergency transportation in the case of obstructed labor.  Second, the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial and parasitic infections and STIs, as well as the administering of basic first aid while maintaining sterile technique are all areas where a tremendous impact can be affected in this village.  Working closely with district health workers to provide a system of care for the community will be critical to the efficacy of this component.  And, finally, the project will advocate for the health of those living with HIV/AIDS in the community.  Facilitating easier access to antiretroviral medications, drugs that can be obtained free of charge in town, as well as providing nutritional supplements will be this component’s primary objectives.

We are grateful for the support of our friend and invaluable colleague, Dr. Eliab Senyagwa, who has graciously offered his partnership in this project’s development and implementation.  His guidance and the services of his Kibakwe clinic, with obstetric capabilities, will prove vital to this project’s success.

Water Sanitation

Water in Kingiti is brought by a single 2” pipeline five miles long, originating in a small winding stream in the mountains West of the village.  The pipe splits into four centrally located water stations, each with two taps, for the 2,300 inhabitants of the village.  The water runs for an average of four hours per day in the early morning.  Though eight taps, running only a few hours a day, supplying the water needs of 2,300 people is unfathomable to most Westerners, it is not the sharing of water that presents the biggest problem- but the water itself.  It is entirely untreated and, being that its origin is on top of a mountain where other people reside and livestock are brought to water, it is the clear source of much of the parasitic and bacterial infections that afflict the people of Kingiti.  Unfortunately, the scarcity of firewood in the arid villages of Mpwapwa makes the practice of boiling drinking water unfeasible for these households, leaving them completely unprotected from the organisms that contaminate this water.

We are currently looking at options for an affordable and sustainable treatment of Kingiti’s water system.  If you have any information, or would like to help, please see our Contacts & Donations link above.  Thank you.