Recent Project

Toys for the preschool children of Relijuu Primary School

What do children like to do most? Playing games, of course. This is not only a pastime, but also very important for their overall development. Among other things, toys support the development of children's motor skills, creativity and social behavior. It is therefore impossible to imagine German daycare centers and kindergartens without toys.

The situation is different in the preschool of Relijuu Primary School in Tanzania. Until now, the 80 kindergarten children did not have a single toy at their disposal, but only a meager room with tables and chairs. Thanks to a generous private donation, we have now been able to equip the preschool with age-appropriate toys.

The situation is similar in other preschools in Tanzania. Support us with your donation to help here with early childhood development materials and toys!

Projects

MINT promotion: Three new laboratories for teaching science inaugurated

Good scientific knowledge is indispensable for many professions and an important prerequisite for sustainable economic development. This includes learning in practice! With three new laboratories at secondary schools in Tanzania, PROBONO is making a contribution as part of the PROBONO teacher training program. At the ceremonial inauguration of the three science buildings in Mwanga in February with many representatives of the local education authorities, there were self-written poems, rap songs and numerous speeches - and of course the official cutting of a green ribbon with a bow. This was done by PROBONO Chairperson Andrea Alleker- Fendel and Mwanga District Commissioner Abdallah Mwaipaya. 

All speakers emphasized the importance of the new laboratories at Mandaka School, Nyerere School and Vudoi School in order to teach physics, chemistry and biology more vividly and thus make scientific phenomena easier to understand. "Our big thanks go to PROBONO who has been providing teacher training and equipping our schools in Mwanga district for many years, and thus, support school education in a great way!" said Mwanga District Commissioner Abdallah Mwaipaya.

PROBONO's commitment was not only highly appreciated by the Tanzanian education authorities, but also by the public. Even the Tanzanian television reported. We are very pleased about this appreciation, as it is an important prerequisite for the sustainable development of our projects and further cooperation.

The new laboratory buildings are equipped with gas, water and electricity connections and have fume cupboards in which chemical reactions can be safely demonstrated. There are side rooms for lesson preparation and with lockable cabinets for Bunsen burners, test tubes and chemicals. Much of the equipment has also been newly purchased.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Merck Family Foundation, the Gerhard and Paul-Hermann Bauder Foundation, the Annas-Geißler Foundation, the Cetto Foundation, the Friedhelm Loh Foundation, the Rivera Foundation, the Carl Zeiss Förderfonds and all private donors for their support!

Project

A quantum leap for the Tingatinga boarding school: Construction and equipment of a computer room

With the help of PROBONO, Tingatinga boarding school in Sanya Juu in Tanzania has now made a quantum leap: a computer room where boarding students learn how to use computers and which gives them access to digital learning materials and the world's knowledge.

Previously, there was only one computer at the school. Thus, even the subject of information technology could only be taught theoretically, unlike the curriculum. The construction and equipping of the computer lab, which can teach 60 students on 30 computers, will also significantly improve the opportunities for independent learning at Tingatinga School.

The students learn now to research information from various sources, to examine it critically and to deepen their knowledge independently. This promotes their educational and career opportunities and increases their chances of overcoming poverty.

Tingatinga Secondary School is a public school in a Maasai settlement area about 70 km northwest of Moshi in Longido District. It is located in a very dry area in a corridor between Arusha National Park and Kilimanjaro National Park. The more than one thousand students all live in the boarding house on the school grounds.

The building was constructed in the local single-story style, with a tin roof and a cement floor. The building consists of one large room (the actual computer room) and a small adjoining room. In order to be able to use the computer room in case of power outages, a small solar system was installed on the roof as a back-up system.

The importance and sustainable effectiveness of the project is also emphasized by the principal of Tingatinga School, Pantaleo Paresso. He wrote to us that the project has a positive influence on the lives of many children who - coming from poor families - could not even imagine working with computers before.

Many thanks to all donors and for the support from the state of Hesse, BILD hilft e.V. "Ein Herz für Kinder" and the Gerhard and Paul-Hermann Bauder Foundation!

Projects

Better opportunities for education through boarding schools

Boarding schools are widespread in Tanzania and Uganda. The ways to school are often long and dangerous and the living and learning conditions at school are often better than at home. Many studies prove: children who live at school show better academic performance. Boarding at school provides a protected space and opens up opportunities for students to focus more on learning. Boarding schools increase the chances of a good future without poverty.

Girls in particular are traditionally very involved in chores around the house and in the fields by their families, so as day students they often do not have the opportunity to do their homework and study for school. Therefore, when the girls live in boarding schools, they perform much better overall and are less likely to drop out of school. Another problem is the long distances to school, which are a particular hazard for girls. Many parents want their daughters to go to boarding school because their safety is ensured there and the risk of early, unwanted pregnancies is much lower.

However, many schools lack dormitory buildings. Therefore, PROBONO has repeatedly supported schools in Tanzania and Uganda with the construction of dormitory buildings over the past decades. Most recently, Edmund Rice Secondary School in Arusha with a large two-story dormitory building for 200 students in 2019/20 and St. Michael's School and Martyrs' School in Uganda with dormitory buildings for 100 girls each in 2020 and 2021.

Many thanks to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), BILD hilft e.V. "Ein Herz für Kinder", TOOLS FOR LIFE Foundation, Freie Waldorfschule Oberursel, Geschwister Zwier-Stiftung, Stiftung Oliver Herbrich Kinderfonds, Andreae Gymnasium Herrenberg, Helga und Alfred Buchwald-Stiftung, Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gymnasium Oberhausen, Irma Pfeiffer-Stiftung and Stiftung Froschkönig for supporting these projects!

Projects

Construction of a laboratory at Mapeera Secondary School in Uganda

Practical science experiments encourage the children's spontaneous urge to explore, enable independent observations and conclusions, promote analytical and creative thinking, and increase motivation and willingness to perform. In short, a science lab was a very important investment in the education and future of the children at Mapeera School.

In addition, at the end of lower secondary school, all students are tested theoretically and practically in physics, chemistry and biology in a nationwide exam. However, the school did not have a laboratory for experiments until now, and so the students were not able to prepare well for the exams.

Many thanks to the BMZ and the Städtisches Gymnasium Schleiden for the project funding in 2020/21!

Projects

Teachers' housing - a big help for a primary school in Kenya

Our only Kenyan partner school, the lmisigiyio Primary School, is particularly poor and poorly equipped. The biggest problem, however, was the lack of qualified teachers. Well-trained teachers, however, are the key to good teaching and the students' learning success. One means of retaining good teachers in the long term that has been tried and tested in East Africa is to provide teacher housing: Teachers save long walks to school and living conditions are often better than in the villages, especially if there is water and electricity at the schools.

Since Ilmissigiyio Primary School is located very lonely in a sparsely populated, rural steppe region, teachers' houses have a special significance here. Thanks to the commitment of the German partner school, the Anna-Schmidt-Schule in Frankfurt, and the support of the TOOLS FOR LIFE Foundation, PROBONO was able to build a new house for up to seven teachers at Imisigiyio Primary School.

The success was not long in coming: as soon as the construction was finished, the Kenyan government sent two new teachers to the school!