www.KccDar.com www.GalleryProject.info The Kigamboni Community Centre was founded by a small group of local youth who had faced the issues of homelessness, poverty, family conflict and lack of education. Their dream was to allow every child to share their unique talents with the world in order to make a better life for themselves. The first step was to ensure access to education for children who had dropped out of formal education. Run entirely by volunteers, KCC's 'drop out school program' has hundreds of students flow through the centre every week studying math, Swahili, and English, to help them prepare to re-enter formal schools. While their primary education program was running, they had a near 100% success rate of placing the students back into mainstream school. According to the 2011 Millennium Development Goals report, Tanzania has almost achieved its goal of universally accessible primary education. The budget for national education in Tanzania has tripled in the last decade, with trillions of dollars being poured into building new classrooms and employing more teachers. As a result of these measures, school enrollment has increased drastically to around 95%. However, a recent Uwezo study of education in Tanzania indicates that the increases in enrolment do not necessarily equate to increased learning and academic success. Although school itself is free, the cost of uniforms, textbooks and transport is still too much for many families and most Tanzanian children still struggle to get an education. The grim reality is that students regularly miss classes so they can look after sick relatives or work and make money for their family. The study found that after two years of primary school, the majority of children cannot read basic Swahili or English or even do basic mathematics. In order to progress to the next year of school they must sit yearly exams, but are only required to achieve 30% in order to pass. As a result of this, by the time the children have finished primary school many do not meet basic academic competencies. In 2011 the Tanzanian government informed KCC they could no longer continue their Drop Out School program as they did not have qualified teachers. The program was moved to a different area and qualified teachers took over. However, the government has announced that in January 2013 this program will end. With the cost of employing formally trained teachers out of KCC's reach, hundreds of children will be left without a means to re-enter school. For now, KCC continues to provide English lessons, social education, preschool classes, acrobatics, traditional and modern dance, drama, Netball, soccer, computers and health. Perhaps most importantly, the centre also gives children a sense of confidence, belonging and hope for the future. Nassoro, one of the original founders and the acrobatics teacher, says, “KCC gives children a big chance because it is bringing everyone together to share what they know and what they can do.” Jackson certainly believes that without KCC his life would have been very different. He imagines he would never have gotten an education and may have ended up on the street. Now when he talks about the future a wide smile spreads over his face, “I feel strong now. I know who I am and what I want to do. At KCC I met people with bigger problems than me and realised anyone has the power to build their own life.” The Gallery Project aims to raise enough money to pay two qualified teachers to work at the centre and ensure all the students have the opportunity for education.

• published: 12 Aug 2012
• views: 580

www.KccDar.com www.GalleryProject.info The Kigamboni Community Centre was founded by a small group of local youth who had faced the issues of homelessness, poverty, family conflict and lack of education. Their dream was to allow every child to share their unique talents with the world in order to make a better life for themselves. The first step was to ensure access to education for children who had dropped out of formal education. Run entirely by volunteers, KCC's 'drop out school program' has hundreds of students flow through the centre every week studying math, Swahili, and English, to help them prepare to re-enter formal schools. While their primary education program was running, they had a near 100% success rate of placing the students back into mainstream school. According to the 2011 Millennium Development Goals report, Tanzania has almost achieved its goal of universally accessible primary education. The budget for national education in Tanzania has tripled in the last decade, with trillions of dollars being poured into building new classrooms and employing more teachers. As a result of these measures, school enrollment has increased drastically to around 95%. However, a recent Uwezo study of education in Tanzania indicates that the increases in enrolment do not necessarily equate to increased learning and academic success. Although school itself is free, the cost of uniforms, textbooks and transport is still too much for many families and most Tanzanian children still struggle to get an education. The grim reality is that students regularly miss classes so they can look after sick relatives or work and make money for their family. The study found that after two years of primary school, the majority of children cannot read basic Swahili or English or even do basic mathematics. In order to progress to the next year of school they must sit yearly exams, but are only required to achieve 30% in order to pass. As a result of this, by the time the children have finished primary school many do not meet basic academic competencies. In 2011 the Tanzanian government informed KCC they could no longer continue their Drop Out School program as they did not have qualified teachers. The program was moved to a different area and qualified teachers took over. However, the government has announced that in January 2013 this program will end. With the cost of employing formally trained teachers out of KCC's reach, hundreds of children will be left without a means to re-enter school. For now, KCC continues to provide English lessons, social education, preschool classes, acrobatics, traditional and modern dance, drama, Netball, soccer, computers and health. Perhaps most importantly, the centre also gives children a sense of confidence, belonging and hope for the future. Nassoro, one of the original founders and the acrobatics teacher, says, “KCC gives children a big chance because it is bringing everyone together to share what they know and what they can do.” Jackson certainly believes that without KCC his life would have been very different. He imagines he would never have gotten an education and may have ended up on the street. Now when he talks about the future a wide smile spreads over his face, “I feel strong now. I know who I am and what I want to do. At KCC I met people with bigger problems than me and realised anyone has the power to build their own life.” The Gallery Project aims to raise enough money to pay two qualified teachers to work at the centre and ensure all the students have the opportunity for education.

• published: 12 Aug 2012
• views: 580