Imagine teaching Math concepts to 125 new and eager second graders, squeezed four to a bench, in a cramped and worn classroom. Similar situations are not unusual at Tloma Primary School.
Tloma Primary School in Tanzania, Africa, has almost 800 students. Each classroom, from Kindergarten through Grade 7, has between 85 and 125 students. This could be a challenging situation for even the most skilled of educators. Public schools are normally supported by the government, but lack of national funding often leaves them in dire need of both supplies and qualified instructors.
Many classes are being taught by dedicated individuals having only a high-school education. Their meager compensation is only what the headmaster can scrape together to pay them. This leads to burnout, less-effective teaching, and degraded education for the students.
Last year, Rodrick, one of only three government-supported, university-degreed teachers at the school, passed away following an illness. Due to lack of funding, the government chose not to replace him. This has the effect of increasing the workload on the remaining teachers and decreasing the educational opportunities for all Tloma students.
This Giving Tuesday, join with Tloma Giving to help hire more teachers for Tloma Primary School. Just $100/month will provide compensation for a qualified teacher.
Our goal is to raise $20,000 to provide support for four teachers for four years. This would lighten teacher workload, reduce overall class sizes, and improve the education for all students. Recent efforts at the school, such as the establishment of fruit and avocado orchards as well as an expanding produce garden, are expected to provide sufficient income within the next four years to pay the salaries for these or other qualified teachers once our goal is met.
Won’t you help us by contributing now? Click the Donate button at the top of the page.