Opening the doors to higher education for girls in Kagera, Tanzania
Every day, girls face barriers to education caused by poverty, cultural norms and practices, poor infrastructure, and violence. In Tanzania, we are constructing the extension of a school building at Mavuno´s Boarding Secondary School for Girls to enable more young girls reaching high-level education.
Girls’ education strengthens economies and contributes to a more stable, resilient society that gives all individuals the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Together with our partner organization Mavuno Project and the local authorities in Tanzania, we are building the extension of a boarding school to enable more young girls to reach a high-level education.
Since 2006, our local partner organization Mavuno has operated a boarding secondary school for girls offering education at standard level (grade 7-11). About half of the students are enrolled through a scholarship program that allows the girls to go to school regardless of the family's financial status, while many of them are orphans. The school has already proven to offer its students a first-class learning environment achieving excellent results in national exams and serving as a role model for other schools in the region. In 2021, the school ranked #4 out of 20 in the Kagera region and #83 out of 4141 nationwide. Yet, many of the students will not get a chance to reach higher education. The competition for upper-level secondary education (grade 12-13) in the region is fierce due to the lack of schools, of which only a handful offer an education that makes students prepared enough to compete for university admissions.
The aim of our project is to extend the existing secondary school by constructing a three-story classroom building offering grades 12-13 and enabling more young women to be both qualified and well prepared for university studies, reach high-level education, and become role models in one of the poorest regions of Tanzania. The school expects to benefit 1800 students by 2030, offering multiple classrooms, a library, teachers' office, toilets, and an electrical power system, while further development plans for the boarding school include a dormitory for more pupils.
EWB-SWE supports the construction with engineering knowledge and project management to validate the construction details and processes as well as to design the electrical, water and sewage systems. Furthermore, we share the funding responsibility with the other organizations involved in the project: EWB Germany, the district council of Karagwe and Mavuno project.
Our approach opens doors to higher education, at the same time as we ensure that the district's poorest school children get a chance to reach these doors. And we need everyone's support to give these girls the opportunity to fulfill their potential.
Erection of the columns up to the roof - 2021
With the structure of the basement and two stories already finished, the next steps as part of our project encompass the third story, roof, walls and all interior installations. Due to the pandemic and ongoing fundraising, the construction has unfortunately been halted for some time. In the meantime, we have taken important steps in the verification of structural calculations relevant to the coming construction phases.
Thanks to recent donations towards the project, the construction resumed, encompassing the erection of the columns up to the roof.
Once the building is fully erected for educational purposes, EWB-SWE will also be involved in the design and construction of the freshwater and wastewater systems. Since the national grid is unstable and often down many days in a row and severely affecting school activities, we will also support the installation of a solar power system dimensioned to supply the building with all its need of electricity.
