Thank you for visiting the fundraising page for the children of the Shangarao Primary School and  the community of the village of Moivaro in Tanzania.

My name is Harvey Marken and I am a middle school teacher in Kansas City, Missouri.  I visitied Tanzania, Africa about two years ago and visited a local public primary school in the village of Moivaro.  As a teacher in a modern well-supported school in America, I was truly shocked at the conditions I saw at the Shangarao Primary School.   There were over 1000 students and only 22 teachers.  The school had no electricity or running water, many windows had no glass to keep out the bugs and weather.   School supplies and materials were virtually nonexistant.  I visited a math classroom of about 50 students and the students only had two old tatered textbooks to share. The chalkboard was rarely used, probably because there was no chalk.  Despite all of the challenges they face, these children had a thirst to learn and a quality education is their best chance to better their lives.

After returning home, I searched for an NGO that could provide help in making a quality education for these children a reality.  I found the Adopt-a-School Program through Earth Assistance, an Australian NGO working in Tanzania.  They developed a program to help improve this school with the support of the local community. 

My family has begun the process by providing one thing that most schools in Tanzania desperately need.  We are supporting a teaching assistanceship for a young lady from the community.  Neema's presence has reduced a class size from 100 to 50 students.  She uses part of her stipend to help her family and her sister now dreams of becoming a teacher.  The next goal is to raise the funds to support Neema's ulitimate dream in becoming a certified teacher.  We are raising funds through First Giving to continue Neema's journey to becoming self-sufficient and a role model for the childrem from her village.  Her teacher certificate will take two years to complete and  about $3000 dollars to cover her costs. 

It is amazing what even small donations can do in a place like Moivaro Village and how much impact we can have on the future of so many promising young boys and girls.

Shangarao Primary School Data:

Student Enrollment	1085
Number of Classrooms	21
Number of Teachers	22
Average class size	80-100

Education is the key to improving the lives of children of Africa, especially for girls.  Investing in this project is an investment in the future of these 1000 young lives and their families.  Under the guidance of the Earth Assistance Foundation of Australia and the Adopt a School program, the following development plan has been created.

1. Restoration and renovation - Many walls and floors are cracked and need repair.  The whole school needs repainting.  Some rusted roofs need repair.
2. Windows - The school has 24 windows which have no frames or glass.  Rain blows into the classrooms during the rainy season and dust in the dry season. The area is cold in winter and the children are very uncomfortable in the cold drafts.
3. Student desks- At present many students sit as many as five students to a desk designed for two.  At least three to a desk is normal.  The school has an immediate need for 100 desks.
4. Landscaping-  Development of the school grounds to present a functional and attractive appearance is an important aspect of all Adopt a School projects.  The school grounds are designed in such a way as they can be easily maintained by the community and the students.
5. School plant nursery-  All schools adopted by the Adopt a School foundation are required to have a simple plant nursery for the growing of seeds and cuttings for use in the school community.  The seedlings from the nursery are distributed freely to the community and cared for by the children and their families.  This program encourages land rehabilitation and agroforestry development.
6. Sports Facilities - Apart from an undersize bare field the school has no sports facilities.  The existing ground can be inexpensively brtought up to standard by plowing and sowing  with seed at the start of the next rainy season.  A running track should be put around the field and football (soccer) posts installed.  A netball court isrequired for the girls.
7. Teacher's Requirements-  Teacher aids are a rarity in Tanzanian schools and it is rare for the teachers of a school to have sufficient text books.  It is very rare for students to have any.  Teachers write the lessons onto the blackboard and the children copy them down.  Many students do not have writing materials at all (due to poverty) and as a result their education is seriously handicapped.

This is the case at Shangarao. Adopt a School works on a base figue of $100 per teacher to ensure they have adequate text books for their subject.  To ensure accurate use of funds Adopt a School pays for the purchase of school supplies on invoice from the supplier.

For primary students $10 per student will provide sufficient writing materials for the year and $20 will provide basic textbooks.

Teachers are so accustomed to having no teachers aids at all that they are not familiar with their use.  Only 7% of Tanzanian schools have electricity so computers and photocopiers mostly are out of the question. 

Learn more about Adopt a School at http://www.adoptaschool.info/     

All fundraising for this project is working through the Sister City Association of Kansas City Missouri, Inc.  We are a sister city to the city of Arusha, Tanzania of with the Moivaro Village and the Shangarao Primary School are a part of.  You can learn more about Sister Cities at http://www.kcsistercities.org/

Donating through this website is simple, fast and secure. It is also the most efficient way to support the fundraising efforts for this worthy cause.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!