Completed Projects

Thanks to the generosity of students, teachers, citizens, and local businesses, NTC has been able to complete several high-impact projects at Kwala Secondary School over the past year. Please take a few minutes to review what we have been able to accomplish, keeping in mind that several of the projects are still in progress and will require additional work to complete.

Library and Textbook Project


When Kwala Secondary School teacher and NTC Tanzania advisor Athuman Msangi was asked in 2007 what was Kwala’s greatest need, the answer was immediate – “Textbooks!” Kwala had no textbooks for its 350+ students. Students were forced to learn both subject matter and English (the mandated language of instruction) simultaneously without seeing either in printed form. Most of each and every class session is taken up with teachers writing out materials on the board, to be recopied by the students. There are simply no books to read.

In 2007, Newton’s students and citizens raised $4,000.00 to provide textbooks for Kwala Secondary School. The initiative inspired Plan USA (an international NGO) to donate an additional $6,000.00 to Kwala for more books, and as importantly, to construct a secure library for storing the books. Plan USA went on to replicate their generous donation at four other secondary schools in other Tanzania villages. This is a great example where partnering with other NGOs helps NTC achieve its goals – not only financially, but with expertise. With the suggestion of and funding for the secure libraries, the textbooks will benefit the schools for many more years than would be otherwise.

Students now have the advantage of borrowing books from the NTC library at Kwala Secondary School, studying in the evening or weekends, and returning them to the school for other students to use. Because teachers generally teach to the mandated national curriculum, the textbooks are of great assistance to students as they prepare for national examinations. While more work needs to be done to reach NTC and Kwala’s goal to have a textbook in each subject for every student, having some textbooks for each subject is a huge step in the right direction.

Thanks to everyone who offered support for the NTC library project at Kwala Secondary School!

Girls Scholarship Program

Women’s education has been well documented as a vital means of improving the social and economic well-being of a nation. Unfortunately, girls in Tanzania face more challenges and barriers to education than boys. Many families are reluctant to allow their daughters to attend secondary school because of the financial burden – secondary school costs $300 per year in a country where the annual earnings for many are $360.  As a result, many girls are pushed into early marriage – as young as 11 or 12 years old.  Other girls that start secondary school, particularly those away from their parents, have no means of support and end up providing for their own school fees and living expenses through prostitution. As could be expected in this environment, unwanted pregnancy is a major cause of girls halting their education – and their future.

Women are the future of Tanzania – girls who complete their secondary education become educated and empowered women whose own daughters are free of past vicious cycles of poor education, pregnancy and poverty.
Realizing the overwhelming challenges facing girls in Tanzania, NTC raised $6,000.00 in 2008 to sponsor twenty girls for the entire 2009 year of schooling. The girls were identified by the female staff at Kwala Secondary School as being “at severe risk of dropping out of school.” The scholarships included school fees, two school uniforms, school materials, three meals a day, and a space in a safe, girls-only rooming house near the school. Each girl had an individual sponsor in the United States, who received letters and pictures from the girl they were sponsoring.

While eight of the twenty girls are set to graduate from Kwala Secondary School this year, still more assistance is needed for the twelve remaining girls who are struggling to continue their education.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored a girl for the 2009 school year!

Latrines Project

Before 2009, Kwala Secondary School had only four latrines for 352 students, and no toilets for its 13 staff members. Further, the existing latrines were rundown and unsanitary, and there is no separation between the boys and girls latrines. Many times, students are so appalled by the thought of using the school latrines that they leave school to go to the bathroom and do not return.

Throughout the 2008/2009 school year, students from NTC Club at Newton South High School raised more than $4,000.00 to build eight new latrines at Kwala Secondary School. Boys and girls from each form now have their own latrine, and are responsible for keeping it in clean and sanitary condition. The latrines were collaboratively built by members of NTC’s July 2009 group trip to Kwala and members of the Kwala School Community.

Sanitary latrines will help prevent the spread of infectious diseases at Kwala Secondary School, including hepatitus A.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the NTC Latrines Project, including the fundraising efforts of Peet’s Coffee and Tea and Barnes and Noble!

Computer and Internet Project

In December, 2008, provided Kwala Secondary School with a computer, printer, and photocopier. Until now, Kwala’s teachers had to use scarce funds to pay an outside service to type, print, and photocopy their examinations, a process that cost up to $2,000 yearly. After the teachers receive computer training from an NTC-funded computer technician this month, they will be able to prepare their own examinations.

In 2009, Kwala Secondary School became the first government school in Tanzania to have access to the internet. Using the internet will enhance communication between Kwala and their partners in the United States, increasing visibility and the extent of NTC’s cultural exchange projects.

Mural Project

In 2009, Newton High School graduate Jackie Schon decided she wanted to paint a large mural on one of Kwala Secondary School’s walls. Encouraging a collaborative effort between herself and students from the school, Jackie created a competition between students to determine the design of the mural. Upon arriving in Tanzania, Jackie sorted through entries from the students and combined many of them for the mural design. She worked with students to complete the mural in just five days.

Thanks to Jackie Schon for her dedication to making Kwala Secondary School a better place and giving students an opportunity to showcase their talents that they otherwise would not be given.

Science Lab

Kwala Secondary School has no science lab equipment for biology, chemistry, and physics, forcing students to learn science subjects theoretically and significantly reducing the possibility of passing Tanzania’s national exams.

Understanding the Issue:

“Students study science subjects theoretically (only). This negates development of the students, science-wise. They don’t like it. They try to negate science subjects. And this has been a big problem to us,” says Erasto Lulandala, Headmaster of Kwala Secondary School. Kwala has two classrooms designated specifically for science laboratories. However, teachers lack the laboratory materials to teach science subjects with the hands-on component that helps students best understand the concepts. Thus, teachers can only teach the subject in the abstract, and many students lose interest in science and drop the subject. Students seeking to become doctors or engineers take the “science concentration” track of schooling, but are placed at a great disadvantage without proper materials to learn the subjects appropriately.

Community Solution:

A new and locally produced “mobile science laboratory” is currently available for purchase in Tanzania. The mobile laboratory can be easily moved from room to room, is designed to the Tanzanian national science curriculum, and has lab materials for biology, chemistry, and physics. NTC is looking to secure funds to purchase the mobile laboratory and give Kwala’s science students an opportunity to learn science appropriately and ultimately pass their exams to graduate from Kwala Secondary School.

Fundraising Goal: $3,750.00

NTC Orchard

Students at Kwala suffer from malnutrition due to the unavailability of a variety of healthy foods in their diets, leading to lower attendance and worse performance.

Understanding the Issue:

Like many schools in Tanzania, students at Kwala Secondary School are fed only Ugali (a cornmeal staple starch in East Africa) each day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. While Ugali is a filling carbohydrate that prevents children from being hunger, it lacks the vitamins and nutrients necessary to keep children healthy in the long run. Without variety in their diets, children are at greater risk for diseases and illnesses associated with malnutrition. However, the school lacks the financial means to purchase and serve foods other than the relatively cheap ugali.

Community Solution:

Starting in July 2009 with NTC’s first group to Kwala, NTC started the tradition of asking each visitor of Kwala to bring a mti wa matunda (fruit tree) to plant in the new NTC Orchard at Kwala Secondary School. Several students at Kwala were assigned to each tree to make sure that it remains healthy throughout the year, and each visitor leaves Kwala with a lasting legacy throughout the year. Completion of NTC’s water harvesting project should ensure enough water to allow the trees to grow large enough to produce fruit that can be eaten by students and staff at Kwala Secondary School. Further, NTC plans to initiate the Kwala Secondary School garden after the water harvesting project is completed, allowing students to assist in growing other fruits and vegetables that can be eaten as well. Adding fruits and vegetables to the diets of Kwala’s students will decrease malnutrition at the school, improve the overall health of the student population, and ultimately increase school attendance and performance.

Finally, an abundance of fruits and vegetables will create a sustainable business opportunity for the school by allowing them to sell excess fruits and vegetables in Kwala village and help fund the school.

Computer and Internet

Most students in Tanzania, and especially those in rural areas, do not have access to computers or the internet, placing them at a disadvantage in the job market and for computer specific career paths.

Understanding the Issue:

Schools without computers and printers are also at a disadvantage because they must use hunderds of dollars of scarce funds each year to hire a service to prepare their mandatory school examindations. A computer, printer, and photocopier would allow Kwala Secondary School to save money by preparing their own examinations each year.

Community Solution:

In 2008 and 2009, NTC provided Kwala Secondary School with two computers, one for offical school use (including exam preparation and school record keeping), and another for use in the school’s new library. Further, NTC provided the school with a printer and photocopier to allow the school to print and copy national exams. Not having to hire a service to prepare exams allowed the school to hire a computer-trained secretary to type exams and keep school records. Finally, NTC provided Kwala Secondary School with internet access, making the school the first government secondary school in Tanzania with internet access.

The next steps for Kwala Secondary School is to purchase computers for student use. With NTC Project Director Lisa Walker on the ground in Kwala throughout the 2010 school year, students can sign up for computer training classes with Lisa, giving them an advantage in a competitive job market after graduating from secondary school. Additionally, students accessing the internet will be able to more regularly and easily communicate with their student friends in Newton, enhancing NTC’s cultural exchange programs between the two communities.

Fundraising Goal: $2,000.00 for six computers and a computer lab.

Girls Education Project

Girls in Tanzania, especially those living in Coast Region such as Kwala, face far greater barriers to education than boys. Some of the challenges girls face include:  forced early marriage, withdrawal from school to help with household chores, and forced prostitution.

Understanding the Issue:

Women’s education has been well documented as a vital means of improving the social and economic well-being of a nation. Unfortunately, girls in Tanzania face more challenges and barriers to education than boys. Many families are reluctant to allow their daughters to attend secondary school because of the financial burden – secondary school costs $300 per year in a country where the annual earnings for many are $360.  As a result, many girls are pushed into early marriage – as young as 11 or 12 years old.  Other girls that start secondary school, particularly those away from their parents, have no means of support and end up providing for their own school fees and living expenses through prostitution. As could be expected in this environment, unwanted pregnancy is a major cause of girls halting their education – and their future.

Women are the future of Tanzania – girls who complete their secondary education become educated and empowered women whose own daughters are free of past vicious cycles of poor education, pregnancy and poverty.

Community Solution:

Starting with the 2009 Tanzanian school year, NTC began giving scholarships to twenty girls at Kwala Secondary School defined as “at severe risk of dropping out of school” by the female teachers at the school. The scholarships including school fees, food, uniforms, school supplies, and housing in a safe “girls only” dormitory close to the school. Individual donors in the United States were matched with a girl at Kwala, receiving updates and letters from the girls they were sponsoring. NTC was also promised by the Kwala Secondary School staff that they would work with the parents of the girls to ensure that they are saving money from their scholarship year to support the girl for her remaining years at Kwala Secondary School.

NTC plans to continue supporting girls education in Kwala in several ways.

  • NTC will continue to support “at risk” girls for individual school years. While eight of the twenty girls in the original project are set to finish Form 4 this year, twelve girls will remain at Kwala Secondary School next year. Most of the girls chosen for scholarships are orphans living with relatives or friends, and will not given money to continue their education next year. NTC hopes to continue supporting those girls, and reach out to other at-risk girls as well.

Fundraising Goal: $300.00 per girl

  • A long term solution to some of the dangers girls face in Kwala is to build a girls dormitory at Kwala Secondary School that can house all of Kwala’s girls and be supervised by an female teacher from the school.

Fundraising Goal: $50,000.00

  • Starting in September, 2009, NTC Project Director Lisa Walker will start a weekly after school girls group at Kwala Secondary School, facilitating conversation for girls only and allowing girls at Kwala to openly express themselves or take on women’s empowerment and leadership projects.

NTC Library

Many schools in Tanzania such as Kwala do not have proper school supplies such as textbooks, hindering the ability of students to learn effectively.

Understanding the Issue:

Kwala Secondary School was opened in 2005 as part of the Tanzanian government’s Secondary Education Development Program, an initiative requiring every ward in Tanzania to have a secondary school. The government promised communities that if they provide the school building and students, they government would provide teachers and school materials. However, with hundreds of secondary schools opening within a relatively short period of time as part of the new initiative, the government could not provide ample teachers or school materials to accomodate each school. Kwala Secondary School was no exception; in 2006 the school had no textbooks for its 352 students, forcing teachers to write material on the board without ever allowing students to see the material for themselves or study outside of school hours.

Community Solution:

In 2008, students from Newton North and Newton South High School led a community wide fundraising campaign for textbooks at Kwala, kicked off by Kwala Secondary School teacher Athuman Msangi’s visit to Newton in October. Their efforts raised over $4,000.00 for the purchase of textbooks, an amount that was supplemented by an additional $6,000.00 from the NGO Plan International and eventually led to the purchase of 1,300 textbooks and the construction of a library at Kwala Secondary School. However, more needs to be done to ensure that each student has access to one textbook for all nine subjects taught at Kwala Secondary School. With the high demand for textbooks, students are still forced to share textbooks and many are not available to every student all the time. NTC hopes to raise enough money to fully fund Kwala’s Secondary School’s new library.

Fundraising Goal: $5,000.00


Uhuru Mentoring Program

Students in Tanzania, and particularly those studying in the Coast Region, are rarely introduced to realistic options for careers and means to further their education after graduating from O Level Secondary School. Without fully understanding their options, many students leave secondary school without fully understanding their options and make ill-informed career decisions.

Understanding the Issue:

Many students in O-level secondary school in the Kibaha Coast Region theoretically know what career they want to persue after graduating from school. However, very few are actually given the opportunity to fully understand the necessary steps to reach their goals. Unlike students in bigger cities such as Dar es Salaam who are more frequently exposed to career information, students in remote areas are left at a disadvantage and rarely get the opportunity to hear about what is really available to them. Futher, students who are not receiving grades high enough to continue to A Level Secondary School (a large percentage due to the region’s underfunded schools) need to be informed of other options aside from attending A Level, including the possibility of attending technical and teachers colleges instead of returning home or seeking petty street jobs.

Community Solution:

NTC plans to kick off a yearly camp in January, 2010 designed to bring twenty of the region’s best Form 4 students together for a three day leadership, skills training, and career information camp. The “Uhuru (freedom) Mentoring Camp” will be held at Kwala Secondary School the weekend of January 22-24, and feature speakers from different careers as well as exposure to different scholarship opportunities available from the government, use of Kwala Secondary School’s computer and internet access, and lessons in filling out applications and letter writing. While no scholarships will be given out at this year’s camp, students will learn about what opportunities are available to them in a fun and interesting way, and NTC hopes to support the future attendees of the camp in subsequent years.

Headmasters from several secondary schools in the region will ask their students with the highest academic performance and leadership skills to apply to attend the camp. NTC will provide transportation, all meals, accomodations, and all the necessary resources to carry out the camp. By introducing students to their options after O level secondary school, NTC will allow students to make intelligent and well-informed decisions about their futures and avoid wasting the education they worked so hard to obtain.

Fundraising Goal: $1,500.00

Water Aid Project

The community of Kwala depends on a pump that brings water from a water source 7 KM away from the community to the village. The pump frequently breaks, however, leaving the Kwala School Community without water for sometimes weeks at a time.

Understanding the Issue:

Both teachers and students depend on water in order to carry out normal daily activities such as cleaning, cooking, and drinking. Most students depend on the school to provide them with three meals per day. However, when water is unavailable, students are left without food and often do not attend school because they are left hungry and to try to find food for themselves. Water is also necessary to keep conditions sanitary in Kwala’s new latrines, built by NTC in July 2009. Finally, a reliable source of water will allow Kwala to start their school garden and maintain the NTC Orchard Project which can both feed students healthy fruits and vegetables and serve as a potential source of income for the school in the future.

NTC’s Solution:

The leaders of the Kwala Secondary School Community have proposed the creation of a water harvesting project that will provide Kwala Secondary School Community with a reliable source of 90,000 liters of water each year. Tanzania’s climate features both a rainy season, running from February to April, and a dry season running from May to January. The proposed water harvesting project would take water from the roofs of Kwala Secondary School and store it in an underground cistern for use whenever the water pump is broken. A reliable source of water will prevent disruptions in Kwala’s school year (including increased attendance), and enable the school to take on other sustainable projects such as a school garden.

For more information on the technology involved in rain harvesting and how the process works, please visit WaterAid International’s webpage on Water Harvesting.

Fundraising Goal: $6,000.00


VIMEO LINK: http://vimeo.com/6071554

English Learning Program

The Tanzanian bilingual policy requires children to master both Kiswahili and English as a pre-requisite for successful secondary school completion. While Kiswahili is utilized as the medium of instruction in primary school, English is enforced as the means of communication in secondary and tertiary school. Thus, knowledge of English is fundamental for Kwala students attainment of higher education.

Understanding the System:
Formalized by end of British period, the educational system is structured into: Primary, Secondary, and tertiary. These three levels consist of: two years of pre-primary education and seven years of primary education, four years of Junior Secondary (Ordinary “O” Level), two years of Senior Secondary (Advanced “A” Level) and up to three or more years of Tertiary Education.  In the four years of primary/basic school, Kiswahili is both the medium of instruction and a subject while English is introduced as a subject in the third year of primary education and is taught for four hours per week. In the 4 to 6 years secondary education (O and A level respectively) English is used as the medium of education for all subjects and national exams are proctored in English.

Understanding the Issue:

Despite the institutionalization of English through education, it is spoken by only 5% of the population, whereas Kiswahili is the prevailing lingua franca and spoken by over 95% of Tanzanians. Thus the extent to which this Tanzanian language policy can be implemented (The extent to which English can be successfully used as the medium of instruction)  is limited by this sociolinguistic context in which English is, despite its official status, largely a foreign language which is not spoken outside of the classroom. The question is then, if students don’t understand the medium of instruction, how then are they expected to understand subjects taught through this medium?

Community Solution:

NTC plans create an English Club at Kwala Secondary School beginning in September, 2009. With this club, NTC hopes to provide students with a casual, fun, and exciting place to learn and practice English. Unlike learning in the classroom, the English club will enable students the opportunity to practice their English conversational skills in a real life setting, a setting which is nearly non existent within the Kwala community at large as Kiswahili dominates most other domains of Tanzanian life. By making English the linga franca in this specific location, NTC hopes to enhance students understanding of English while also helping them to feel comfortable while speaking English both inside and outside of the classroom.

Faculty Housing

Due to a multitude of local and national issues, Kwala faces a shortage of qualified teachers.

Understanding the Issue:

Teachers throughout Tanzania are assigned to teaching locations which are generally far from their homes. This policy is meant to ensure that even the most rural schools are supplied with educated and capable teachers. However, due to this policy, the government must supply housing facilities for all faculty members.

With scarcity of houses and rental rooms in town, many teachers find themselves compelled to reside many kilometers from their schools, requiring daily commuter van fares which are difficult to pay on their meager salaries. This shortage of teachers combined with difficult travel conditions has resulted in poor faculty attendance. This inconsistency compromises the quality of education provided at Kwala Secondary School.

Community Solution:

In order to ensure consistent educational opportunities, faculty housing must be constructed within easy walking distance to Kwala secondary school. NTC will pursue fundraising initiatives and individual sponsors to help in constructing a new teacher housing facility.