Education for all
Loolera - a village in nowhere is catching up
Loolera is idyllically situated on a hill away from any civilisation. When you visit this village, you embark on a journey through time. The people here live in mud huts without electricity and water.
A few years ago, the government built this school with 2 classrooms and a small office. However, it has remained largely unused because no teacher wants to live here under these difficult conditions.
teacher wants to live here.
But Simon, a father from Loolera, who himself has only completed grade 7, taught the pre-school children here for years. This was the only way they had any chance of attending primary school. A small blackboard on the floor was the only teaching material.
The nearest school is a 1.5 hour walk away. The path is very arduous and dangerous because of the ground when it rains.
School education - still a privilege in East Africa
In Tanzania, the school system is adapted to the British system. There is compulsory schooling for primary school (grades 1 – 7), which can be attended without paying school fees.
Nevertheless, many families do not send their children to school. For one thing, the children take on important tasks. For example, the girls help their mothers with the daily chores, the boys supervise the herds. If they went to school, their labour would be lost.
On the other hand, the children cannot attend school because of the costs for a school uniform and/or for exercise books and pencils. There are no books, only one for the teacher. A photocopier is also a luxury and often not available. Thus, only the blackboard is used during frontal teaching. Copies are made from notes taken by the pupils.
We start through
After our 1st visit in 2019, we took off. Steven went to Loolera six times a week. As a trained teacher, he taught the little ones together with Simon. A new blackboard helped them in their important task.
In addition, one cup of porridge per day was cooked for the mostly hungry children. A few months later, a 20,000 litre water tank was built. (S. in the picture at the back) Rainwater is collected and filtered here. This provided drinking water in Loolera for the first time.
The old school building was renovated. Since 2019, around 100 pre-school children can now be prepared for primary school every year. Without this project, they would remain at home and uneducated for the rest of their lives.
In 2022, the government built this 2nd new school building. They see the progress in Loolera and take this decision as a recognition of our activities.
The common goal of the village community, the government and Q-RATIO® e.V. Germany is now to build a primary school directly in the village. For this, 3 classrooms are still missing.
Reaching the goal together
The villagers have already taken the initiative and started the construction of these classrooms. This requires the sale of animals. This effort is a big change in their way of thinking, because in the past a Maasai would never have sold an animal to enable his child to attend school. In agreement with the government, it is enough to finish the shell construction.
The final completion, including furnishing, will then be taken over by the government. Their dream of finally having their own primary school in their own village is coming closer.
We are supported by the Minister of Education of the Monduli district, among others, with whom we are working hand in hand to make progress.
ABC - Classes for adults
ABC classes – a great opportunity for all those who have not had the chance to attend school so far. Here they learn reading, writing and arithmetic and can also support their children.