"There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up."
― John Holmes
― John Holmes
Currently, all of our projects are targeted on teaching in primary schools, located in the Arusha region, in small villages of Sanawari, Ilboru and Olturoto. We place our volunteers to teach various subjects, such as English, Math, Science, Geography, etc, based on their skills and preferences.
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Before enrolling in a project, you need to know some details about primary education in Tanzania.
Primary school starts with three years of pre-primary education, called baby, middle and pre-unity classes, which is equivalent to kindergarten. Then, students go through class one to seven. Primary education is provided both by government and public sector, and there is a big difference between two of them. Even though there are two official languages in Tanzania, Kiswahili and English, the majority of people do not speak English freely. While primary education can be taught in both languages, secondary one is taught strictly in English. |
Government primary schools are free of charge, even though families still have to pay for uniforms, exam fees and school supplies. Such schools are usually big, with up to 60 students per classroom, and they suffer from shortage of qualified teaches. The biggest disadvantage of such schools is that they teach in Kiswahili. Generally, they have only a couple of English classes per week, and they are not taken seriously. Consequently, children have either really bad or simply no knowledge of English; statistics show that only half of those, who attend government primary schools, manage to pass graduation exam and continue their education.
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Private schools do provide better education, compared to the public ones. Their major privilege is that they teach all subjects in English. They are generally tiny, with up to 120 students in total and no shortage in staff. There, teachers try to promote personal student-teacher relationships and use more Westernized approach of teaching in order to give their students a broader perspective. Their main goal is to engage children to develop in different ways by organizing such events such as talent shows and debates. However, for such offers private sector charges substantial attendance fees, which are unaffordable to many families in the region. Some of the private schools try to find external funding to give disadvantaged children a chance for brighter future.
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If you are planning to volunteer with us for more than three weeks, we encourage you to teach in a government school. Children there have really basic English level, and it is hard to make a difference in a short period of time. You will generally start as a teacher assistant or will be accompanied with a teacher, who will translate your words to students into Kiswahili. As soon as you get adapted to the environment and feel confident, you may teach by yourself. In order to do it effectively, you will need to construct well-planned, engaging and interesting lessons, and we will be there for you to give a hand. Proper approach to teaching will boost students’ desire to improve and learn English. It might be quite challenging but highly rewarding, as you truly can change someone’s future.
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