Life-Changing Mentorship for Tanzanian Girls

Potential Partner School Outreach

As mentioned in the March Report, Kisa is expanding to Moshi, Tanzania. So far, the Tanzanian staff has conducted meetings with five of the original eight schools we targeted to approach as potential partner schools, and an additional school which has been added to the list. These meetings were all incredibly positive. All six schools were enthusiastic about the mission of the Kisa Project, the potential benefits of Kisa for their students, and several administrators had heard positive feedback about AfricAid from colleagues. The mentors and staff in Arusha are extremely encouraged by the response to these meetings.

Technology Incentive

Most Kisa Scholars are competent in the most common form of technology in Tanzania - cell phones. Unfortunately, they are often not able to gain access to computers with basic word processing and web browsing programs. Almost all Kisa Scholars are A-Level students, and though A-Level studies are college preparatory years, applied technology training is not well-integrated into the curriculum. When Kisa Scholars reach university (90% of Kisa Scholars move onto university), they will be required to conduct research online, as well as submit all written work typewritten, using a word processing program.

This is why it is critical to incorporate computer literacy into the Kisa curriculum as we strive to give Kisa Scholars the tools to thrive in their academic lives. The schools with whom AfricAid has partnered with have also seen the value of computers, not only for the Kisa Scholars, but for all their students. Providing computers has historically been an important incentive when reaching out to new partner schools. The schools we have approached to partner with in Moshi almost all have existing computer labs, but all are eager to add additional computers and programs to improve their existing labs.

Next Steps 

Both the AfricAid staff in Tanzania and the US are happy with the positive response received from potential Kisa partner schools. The Arusha staff will be meeting with the head masters again soon to finalize partnerships. We are so thrilled to be expanding to reach new girls and their communities.