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.

Shule ya Msingi ya Elimu

Lengo kuu la mradi wa elimu yetu katika Shule ya Msingi Kingiti ni kutoa watoto wote kutoka familia kushindwa kwa msaada wao kwa njia ya kupata elimu.   Kama hakuna masomo kwa ajili ya kujiunga na shule za msingi, gharama ya mavazi ya lazima na mara nyingi vifaa vya kuzuia watoto yatima na watoto wa familia maskini na kupata kile ni sawa na elimu ya msingi na kati ya shule.   shule ya msingi ni wapi watoto wa Kingiti ni kufundishwa Tanzania lugha ya taifa, Kiswahili (Kigogo yaliyosemwa na nyumbani), na pia ni mahali ambapo kujifunza yote ya masomo mengine muhimu muhimu kwa mtoto matumaini ya baadaye pamoja na chaguzi zaidi ya kijiji .

Gharama ya wastani wa dola 12 kwa mwaka kwa msaada wa mtoto katika shule ya msingi.   Hii ni pamoja na sare, viatu, vifaa vya shule, na dawa kwa mara ya ugonjwa wa mwaka mzima.   Sisi ni katika mwaka wetu wa tatu wa utekelezaji wa mradi huo wa shule za msingi na sisi sasa ni fedha za watoto 30 kwa darasa la kwanza kwa njia ya tatu.

Elimu ya sekondari

Kupata elimu ya shule ya sekondari ni mwanafunzi wa kwanza wa Tanzania hatua kubwa katika kufikia malengo yao, na kiasi kama shule ya sekondari ya diploma au GED nchini Marekani, wachache milango wazi bila hiyo.   Ni ngazi ya elimu ya watoto wote katika vijiji kama Kingiti kutamani kufikia, ingawa wengi hawana nafasi ya kujiingiza.   Hii ni kutokana na kukosekana kwa jumla ya shule za sekondari vijijini nchini kote.   Wa karibu wa shule ya sekondari ya Kingiti ni katika mji mdogo aitwaye Kibakwe, na, pamoja na ukosefu wa usafiri, ni zaidi ya kufikia zaidi ya wanafunzi wa kijiji safi.   umbali huu unahitaji familia kuwa na uwezo wa kumudu makaazi katika moja ya hosteli Kibakwe ya mwanafunzi, pamoja na masomo na vifaa, ili kuwaandikisha watoto wao katika Shule ya Sekondari Kibakwe.   Kupeleka mtoto kwa gharama Kibakwe Shule ya Sekondari ya zaidi ya dola 200 kwa mwaka, ambayo ni wastani wa wastani ya mapato ya mwaka kwa ajili ya kaya ya kilimo cha Kingiti.   Matokeo yake, zaidi ya familia katika kijiji hiki huwezi kununua elimu ya sekondari kwa watoto wao.

Mwaka 2009, mwaka yetu ya kwanza ya mradi wa elimu, sisi imeweza mdhamini tatu ya unono Kingiti wa shule ya msingi wahitimu-Alberto Kuhoga, Xavery Malama, na Alfonzina Suluti.   Wao wote wamefanikiwa katika miaka yao miwili ya kwanza ya masomo ya shule za sekondari, na kuanza mwaka wao wa tatu na kujiamini katika Januari mwaka huu.   Alfonzina ni ya kwanza ya ndugu yake kwa shule za sekondari na imekuwa kupongezwa kwa kazi yake ya maadili na wote wa walimu wake.   Malama Xavery na Alberto Kuhoga waliochaguliwa kwa ajili ya masomo hayo kwa alama zao juu katika Shule ya Msingi Kingiti.   Alfonzina ya Mama, wazazi Xavery, na walezi Alberto's bila kuwa na uwezo wa kutoa elimu ya sekondari kwa watoto wao bila ya fedha kutokana na mradi huu.   Mwaka 2010, tulikuwa na uwezo wa mfuko wa uandikishaji wa mbili zaidi wahitimu Kingiti Shule ya Msingi katika Shule ya Sekondari Kibakwe.   Alisema Mariamu na Benitho Kujela walichaguliwa na mradi wakurugenzi Laithon Mvili na Stanley Muhede kama waombaji mbili zaidi uwezekano wa kufanikiwa katika harakati zao za elimu ya sekondari na wao wamefanya yetu kiburi sana.   Januari 2011 ina alama ya mwanzo wa mwaka wao wa pili katika Shule ya Sekondari Kibakwe na walimu wao na wakurugenzi hosteli wana taarifa yao kuwa mfano wanafunzi.

Ili kupata fedha kwa ajili ya miaka ijayo ya elimu ya sekondari kwa wanafunzi wale ambao tayari waliojiunga katika miradi yetu ya udhamini, na kutokana na ukosefu wa fedha mpya, sisi walilazimishwa si kujiandikisha yeyote mwezi wanafunzi wa shule ya sekondari mwaka 2011.   Tuna matumaini ya kuendelea na mradi huu na fedha salama na wafadhili wapya na kuruhusu kwa wanafunzi wa ziada wa 2012.

Afya kijiji Outreach

Afya ya Kijiji Outreach mradi uko katika hatua yake ya mwanzo wa maendeleo na itazinduliwa baadaye mwaka huu.   Mradi huu Lengo kuu ni kurahisisha masharti kwa ajili ya huduma ya afya ya msingi katika Kingiti, kama zinazotolewa na mfanyakazi wa ndani ya nchi mafunzo ya afya kutoka kijiji.   Kingiti sasa haina plagi ya matibabu ya kutoa matibabu ya aina yoyote na wale walio katika haja hiyo ya mateso kutoka kwa baadhi ya wanakijiji wa hali ya ubiquitous wanaowatesa wakazi mwa Jangwa la Sahara wanalazimika kusafiri ili kupata ushauri au huduma.   Wengi ni dhaifu mno kwa kusafiri na kliniki ya wilaya, au hawawezi kumudu gharama za...