New classrooms and toilets at Maweni Primary School complete!
Our partnership with Maweni Primary started in February 2019. Maweni Primary School is a government school located located in Muriet, Arusha. The 433 students enrolled in this school are dedicated and eager to learn.
When we first visited, Maweni primary school had no access to fresh drinking water, no electricity and no public transport. The government provided one tank of water a month for the school, which equates to just 3 days supply. The teachers had to be very strict for what it was used for and this resulted in students being thirsty, unable to wash their hands and go into some of the most unclean toilets we’ve ever seen.
The classrooms were also in very poor condition with no windows, broken roofing and broken floors that students trip on and were very overcrowded making it hard to learn. You can learn more here about Maweni Primary — Made With Hope.
Flooded toilets when we first visited Maweni primary school.
A classroom from our first visit to Maweni.
A toilet cubicle in the original toilets.
We are celebrating the recent completion of 10 classroom renovations, 2 new classrooms constructed and new toilets!!
These new classrooms and toilets are our newest additions at Maweni school, having previously installed 12 5,000 litre water tanks, constructed handwashing facilities with 14 taps and delivered a menstrual hygiene management programme for girls.
The community have been involved in the project from the very beginning, to ensure a sense of ownership and to create a partnership. During the inception meeting conducted by Ndoto in Action (NIA) the community agreed to a contribution of the 10% towards the project. This contribution is made through their labour during the project implementation, during the renovation and construction of the new classrooms. The local community are all part of the Massai Tribe, and their sole occupation is tending to their cattle. The community believe in the importance of education and parents are sending their children to Maweni Primary School to try and escape extreme poverty. Their contribution to these projects will help ensure a better future and opportunities for their children.
Hussein, Founder of our partner Ndoto in Action (NIA) leading the projects, gave us an update on all things Maweni:
The projects that we were implementing at Maweni have been completed! We held a hand over event hosted at Maweni Primary school attended by different government officials from the district, ward and the village levels and the community as a whole. The community and the leadership are very happy with the outcomes and looking forward to maintaining the projects so that they can last for a long period of time.
The projects implemented included:
1. Renovation of the 10 existing classrooms, the aim of renovation was to make sure that the students and teachers are having a conducive environment that support both teaching and learning, where the students are having classrooms with enough light in their classrooms, with windows that have glass in and closing doors for protection during the cold season.
The outside of one of the original classrooms.
The floor of one of the original classrooms.
Painting the outside of a classroom.
Renovations of one of the original classrooms.
A completed classroom!
A completed classroom kitted out with desks.
2. Construction of 2 new classrooms, just like the renovation of the existing classrooms, aimed at reducing the overcrowding of students in the classrooms to match the number that is proposed by the government, which is a ratio of 1:45 (teacher:students). The previous class ratio at Maweni was up to 1:70 and even more in some classes. The construction went along with the fitting of 50 desks to support the learning process since children will be sitting while learning. These desks are to be distributed equally in the two new classrooms, each classroom to have 25 desks.
3. Renovating the boys' toilet and constructing one for students with special needs, the boys toilet was not in a good shape, having an unpleasant smell that made it uncomfortable for boys at Maweni Primary school to utilize the existing toilet. The toilets have been improved to ensure that they are in a good condition that support hygienic practices and will not contribute to the spread of diseases.
We hope these projects will have a huge impact on for the children at Maweni…
From the renovations and ronstruction of two new classrooms we expect to get the following outcomes;
Classrooms built/renovated to make a safe and comfortable learning environment for 429 pupils at Maweni primary school.
Improved school classroom infrastructure to allow more enrollment of pupils.
Decreased overcrowding in classes.
Increased accessibility of teaching aids to teacher.
Increased classroom concentration during studies which led to improved grades and academic performance to pupils at primary school.
From the renovation of the boy’s toilet, we expect to have the following outcomes;
Improved hygiene practices behavior to 219 boys due to the availability of friendly toilets easy to clean at Maweni primary school.
Strengthened WASH behaviors among young boys due to the refurbished toilet at school.
Improved grades and academic performance for 219 boys due to having good toilets that make them free from stress and concentrate in study at Maweni primary school.
Made with Hopes Chair, Alex, and Founder of NIA, Hussein, celebrating at the handover ceremony.
Hussein speaking to students and members of the community at the handover ceremony.
Cutting the ribbon to symbolize the opening of the new projects.
If you would like to support more projects like these please click the button below to donate!