THE UHURU NA JUKUMU BOARDING SCHOOL

The Liwalo na Liwe's initial project is to create the Uhuru na Jukumu Boarding School. Uhuru is one response to the problem of street children in Iringa, Tanzania. Its main objective is to provide street children with a space where they can live and learn the skills necessary to become creative, independent and a productive part of Tanzania.

Uhuru will be an English medium school with high priority placed on literacy, mathematics, science, technology and entrepreneurship. As we want the students to realize their full potentials, Uhuru will not only be a student based institution but a synthesis of formal and non-formal education. We hope to develop intelligent children, encourage creativity, and nurture community development. We hope to begin construction of Uhuru, its first site in Viwengi, Iringa, as early as December 2008. We strongly encourage your support.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is non-formal education?

Why does it work better for this situation?

What is the pedagogical approach?

How are children chosen for the school?

Will children still have the necessary skills/knowledge to go to college?

What is the basic structure of the school?

What adult supervision will be present?

Besides education, what services will the school provide?

What programs will help the boys become more involved with their community?

Who will manage the long-term administration?

How will the school maintain sustainable funding?

What is the administrative ratio of the project?

What is the cost per child (including food, health, education, etc.)?

What is non-formal education?

Non-Formal education is any approach to education which utilizes but is not limited to traditional curriculum and instructional methods. Our education identifies specific needs of the community and develops the manpower to meet those needs. It is a life-long learning process that can take place at any location, time, and age.

Why does it work better for this situation?

Many times street children return to the formal schools and eventually drop-out because there are not specific programs that consider their unique experiences. We believe each child deserves an instructional method that is tailored to fit his or her needs. Most importantly, our goal is to not only educate these children but to offer them housing, a family and all that is necessary for their proper development.

What is the pedagogical approach?

The Montessori method.

How are children chosen for the school?

We will select the most vulnerable children, using the same methods that orphanages use. That is, a child is admitted if there is no possibility of finding a living relative. We will admit 30 of the most vulnerable street children from ages 10-14, and at age 18 they will matriculate.

Will children still have the necessary skills/knowledge to go to college?

Yes, the boys will be able to go to college and more. The idea of the boarding school is based on the college/university model because our students have the opportunity to choose their interests (majors) and pursue them.

The boys who have 8 years within our organization will be more exposed to academic training, specifically in the areas of math and science (the community needs doctors and engineers). But it is important to note that our priorities exceed college preparation and are concerned with wholeness of the child. Specifically, our children will be conditioned to make the right choices in life. While college will be possible for some of the children, we will try to prevent our children from becoming part of the “educated unemployed,” a problem in Tanzania and Africa at large, by providing a means of sustenance through vocational training as well.

What is the basic structure of the school?

The institution will be a boarding school, as these children need not only education, but a family and an environment that can facilitate their proper development.

What adult supervision will be present?

The adult to children ratio is 1:6. We will have 5 permanent staff who will always be on site. Of the permanent staff, there will be 2 administrators and 3 teachers. We will also encourage community members to work for pay and as volunteers if we find them supportive of our school's mission.

Besides education, what services will the school provide?

Every activity that this institution facilitates is didactic. Learning comes from experiences and the children’s experiences are not limited to the classroom setting. We follow a whole-life approach to schooling, focusing on social responsibility as well as preparing our children for work.

What programs will help the boys become more involved with their community?

The boys will be feeding other street children every week using produce that we grow on our farm or food that we acquire from local markets. The children will also be involved in raising community awareness of issues of health like proper sanitation. There will also be a media center that provides a space for the boys to use technology, journalism, visual media, and musical production to promote theirs and the community’s issues.

Who will manage the long-term administration?

It will be a collaborative effort between the Board of Directors of the Liwalo na Liwe FDN and the administrators of the Uhuru na Jukumu Boarding School. Liwalo na Liwe FDN’s involvement in the daily operations of the school will be limited as its activities are more expansive.

How will the school maintain sustainable funding?

The Liwalo na Liwe Foundation is responsible for procuring funds for the boarding school and will engage different sponsorship and funding sources. We want to generate funds by making products for-sale, like our documentary, and hope to benefit from the business incubation programs that the school will develop. It is also the goal of the foundation to develop relationships with student organizations throughout the United States who can assist in fundraising.

What is the administrative ratio of the project?

The administrative costs should not exceed more than 1/3 of the operating budget.

What is the cost per child (including food, health, education, etc.)?

We estimate a monthly cost of $210 to meet all of a child’s needs.

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