School Improvements
The Tanzanian government helps to build a community school's basic structure by supplying building material. Then it is up to the community to construct and finish the project. The community's "finish" point is often at a point that is economically feasible but not at a point of completeness. The paint, desks, labs, books, shelves, clean drinking water, lighting, sanitation, kitchen facilities, etc. are all the responsibility of the community. The desire to complete the school is there but once the structure is up, the economics of paying for their children's school fees takes precedence. (The TZ government does not supply teachers so school fees are needed to pay for teachers. Paying for teachers takes precedence over completing the project.) Economics drives the gap between what is wanted and what is done.
Safi School Project works with communities on existing schools to design and complete projects that have been left undone. Each school and community will work with Safi to find the best fit of what is needed and what Safi will assist with. Our goal is to turn each school into a model school that considers the needs of the whole school, its students, teachers, volunteers, infrastructure, and the community. We will:
- Partner with sponsors to bring water, sanitation and other large projects.
- Visit schools to paint and bring supplies for improvements.
- Assure that the community has a voice.
- Assure that sponsored projects are supervised locally.
- Support our on site project manager who assures that the project is completed to agreed upon standards