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Jifunze Project

The mission of the Jifunze Project is to enable individuals living in an under-served part of rural Tanzania to attain a quality education, which will expose them to other worlds, enrich their lives, and expand their possibilities for livelihood.

Named after the Swahili word for learning, “jifunze” directly translates as “teaching oneself.”

Kibaya, the site for the Jifunze Project

Kibaya, with approximately 20,000 residents, is the largest town in northern Tanzania’s rural Kiteto District at the southern point of the Masaai homeland. Kiteto is one of the most impoverished districts in the country due to its remote location, shortage of clean water and very limited supply of electricity.

Problems faced by the students of Kibaya

Kibaya students are at a distinct educational disadvantage because of the severe shortage of teachers, books and resources in the town. Despite these challenges, the youth persevere and create collaborative learning situations.

Creating the Jifunze Center, a multi-media learning complex in Kibaya

The Jifunze Project is building a “Jifunze Center” to empower students to learn collaboratively in a healthy, supportive and exciting atmosphere rich with academic resources.

It will include an extensive public reference library, student academic reference libraries, study group discussion rooms, a reading room, a multi-media resource area, a public meeting room and an educational garden.

The center will offer formal literacy classes to individuals of all ages, as well as the opportunity for semi-formal study to children who are no longer enrolled in school. In addition, the center will hold public lectures on subjects of community interest. The Jifunze Center will be a model for all those interested in education and development in Tanzania.

Community Contribution

The local government of the Kiteto district has donated a large plot of land for the Jifunze Center, as well as an office for the Jifunze Project and a plot of land for the staff houses. Secondary school students have spent many long afternoons clearing the library plot and students from one of the local primary schools are harvesting donated seeds in order to plant a thorn fence for the center.

Adults in town have dug the foundation, well and pit latrines. The District Council donates their lorry to aid in acquiring building materials from Dodoma, in addition to transporting sand and stones from the river in Kibaya to the building site. The District Education Officer will donate school textbooks so that students have access to familiar books. Additional books will be donated in the U.S. and shipped.

Program Description

The center will include two large reference libraries with textbooks that support the school curriculum in all subject areas; each room will accommodate 75 students, with one for primary school students and the other geared towards secondary school students. Each of the student reference rooms will include three smaller study spaces with round tables, chairs and a blackboard – enabling students to form study groups and work through problems together.

There will be a public reference room which will include tables for study purposes, couches and chairs for leisure reading, and a smaller self-contained reading room with newspapers and fictional works. The materials in these rooms will be geared towards the needs of the adults and elderly in the community, although entry will be open to all.

There will be an additional large milti-purpose room used as a basic literacy center, which will serve adults in the mornings and young children in the afternoons. In addition, in the evenings and on the weekends this space will be available as a meeting room for any interested community members. This space will serve as a classroom for other public educational programs.

Project Progress and Funding Information

As of August, 2001, we have secured funding from The Samuel Huntington Memorial Fund, Newman’s Own Foundation, The Collings Foundation, The New England Biolabs Foundation and The Lifebridge Foundation.

We aim to build a wide base of support, drawing from the resources within Kiteto District, as well as from Tanzanian and Foreign based foundations, trusts and NGO’s.

The building is well underway and we are in the midst of raising funds to complete its construction. Funds and in-kind educational contributions are now needed.

Contact for information and contributions

Please contact the ICSEE or the Jifunze Project Coordinator, Ms. Carrie Oelberger at Carrie@jifunze.org

Or visit the web site at www.jifunze.org.