“Jifundishe” is an empowering Swahili word meaning “Teach yourself.”
“Mnazi” is the Swahili word for “coconut tree.”
Read on to find out more about my secondary schools proposal and
the wonderful NGO I'm partnering with: Tanzania Reads!
Tanzania Reads, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the aim of improving the educational environment for underprivileged but motivated students in one of the world’s poorest nations.
A product of three former Peace Corps Volunteers’ experiences working at rural Tanzanian schools where resources were limited, Tanzania Reads is focused on developing libraries and other educational resources in schools with the capacity to organize and use them properly. Schools that will receive assistance from Tanzania Reads have been and will be carefully selected based on the viability of their plans to store materials and share them with students and/or the surrounding community.
Read on to find out more about my secondary schools proposal and
the wonderful NGO I'm partnering with: Tanzania Reads!
Tanzania Reads, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the aim of improving the educational environment for underprivileged but motivated students in one of the world’s poorest nations.
A product of three former Peace Corps Volunteers’ experiences working at rural Tanzanian schools where resources were limited, Tanzania Reads is focused on developing libraries and other educational resources in schools with the capacity to organize and use them properly. Schools that will receive assistance from Tanzania Reads have been and will be carefully selected based on the viability of their plans to store materials and share them with students and/or the surrounding community.
Our Proposal- written by Students and Teachers at Mnazi Secondary School.
Ward: Mnazi
District: Lushoto
Region: Tanga
Number of students: Currently 381 (Form 1: 120, Form 2: 84, Form 3: 91, Form 4: 89)
Number of teachers: Currently 5
Student : Teacher Ratio: 72:1
Library status: Mnazi Secondary School is in the process of completing construction of a new library. Proposed date of completion May 2012. Currently books are housed in a storage room. Students enter with a teacher and sign out books as needed. One teacher is assigned this duty and holds daily office hours in the book room.
Number of textbooks currently in storage room (all subjects):
Chemistry 149, Biology 191, Physics 131, English 67, Math 163, Kiswahili 122, History 40, Civics 32, and Geography 42
There may be what other schools consider a fair amount of books in the storage room at Mnazi Secondary. Unfortunately, most of books listed above were written based on outdated curriculum and are in very poor condition. Most copies of the soft cover science books are missing pages and severely damaged by weather (humidity) and insects. The students care for the fragile books the best they can by covering them during check-out. As you can see it has become difficult to care for these books as many of the them are over 15 years old.
Amount needed to put quality textbooks and dictionaries in the hands of students at Mnazi Secondary: $2,500
“Karibu Mnazi!”
“Welcome to Coconut Tree”
Students studying at Mnazi Secondary School are very bright energetic youth, but they severely lack resources and teachers to satisfy their thirst for knowledge. Last year, only two permanent teachers were on staff. The school functioned with the help of secondary school graduates, called Form 6 leavers, who became temporary teachers as they waited for their college acceptance letters.
The results from the 2011 NECTA (national exam) were clear that the school is in need of serious help. Only 23% of the graduating class passed, and of those students who passed they all ranked in the lowest division. What does this mean? Not one of them has the opportunity to continue on to higher education and the cycle of poverty continues.
Student Spotlight
Name: Anna Noa
Age: 17
Grade Level: Form 4
Favorite subjects: Swahili, history, geography and biology
“I hope to continue with my studies to become a Secondary School teacher. Tanzania has a major shortage of teachers and I want to do my part to help my country develop. Most of all I enjoy learning languages so I would like to teach Swahili and English to my future students. I am very excited to study at the New Jifundishe Library. When it opens it will be my first time to ever enter a true library space.”
Name: Ramadhani Abdallah
Age: 21
Grade Level: Form 4
Favorite subjects: biology, geography, chemistry, physics and mathematics
“I enjoy reading books for pleasure, unfortunately the book options in our current storage center are very few. I know I need to study everyday if I want to achieve my goal of becoming an engineer and working for a Telecommunications company. To me, having a quite place to study with up to date books means I have a chance to succeed!”
What is the school community doing to promote a positive learning environment?
Student Empowerment: Student-created book list. Students took control over creating the book list and budget for this library project – everything you read here has been requested by the students themselves!Construction of a new library space.
World Map Project: The picture above shows our world map, which helps students envision the world beyond Mnazi.
Construction of a New Library Space:
How can you help?
With just $2,500, we can put quality up to date resources in the hands
of students studying at Mnazi Secondary. We can contribute over 350
books to the new Jifundishe Library, lowering the student-to-textbook
ratio and empowering students to succeed.
click here to
Make a Donation
at the TZ Reads Website
