Ellesmere College Students Make A Difference In Tanzania

A group of Ellesmere College students recently spent a fortnight helping to make a difference at a school in Tanzania.

It was all part of the Monduli Green Project, set up 10 years ago by Cathy Allen, an English as an Additional Language teacher at Ellesmere College, to work with schools and communities in Tanzania with the aim of improving facilities and the environment for children.

The students were involved in teaching English, tree planting, painting classrooms at the school and gained first-hand knowledge of the difficulties experienced in the day-to-day lives of people in the East African country.

Cathy said: "This is a really worthy charity and one which allows our students to help others in need while appreciating the difficult circumstances many people are still living under in the 21st Century. For example, the charity is committed to getting better water access, expanding the tree cover, improving educational facilities and opportunities, and creating a better understanding of a range of different cultures."

The students had a full itinerary during their trip - including a visit with the District Commissioner before attending Mtimmoja Primary School to do some tree planting and watch a student dance show. They also met the renowned primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall after attending one of her lectures and visited Nanja School where they were involved in some sapling care.

Nanja School is a boarding school like Ellesmere College, but it has no water for its 450 boarders and pupils have a 10-minute walk to collect dirty water from a pond for washing and so on. They have to buy drinking water from the military. The Monduli Green Project plans to help them harvest water in the future to make it safer and more tolerable for the students.

As part of this summer's trip the Ellesmere College students also painted the classrooms at Nanja School and met with the local women's group too. They also visited National Parks and museums.

Money for the trip is raised throughout the term through fundraisers and events.

"The Monduli project really strikes a chord with our pupils," Cathy added. "They go on to have lifelong connections and a large number of staff, parents and pupils pay to sponsor a child each year through school too, helping to ensure they get the education they deserve and the opportunities they would not normally get. The number of sponsorships each year continues to go up and one of the first pupils who was sponsored through his education has now qualified and is now teaching at the school in Tanzania. The charity is doing some amazing work in Tanzania and Ellesmere College is proud to be able to play our part in raising awareness of that work by supporting and helping those in need."

Edina Jones, Yr 12 student, said of the experience, "For me the trip to Monduli changed my outlook on life. It sounds a bit extreme I know, but it did. Actually being able to go to Monduli, to see it for yourself and help people face to face is so rewarding. Also getting to know those people you help is an amazing experience in itself. I would never have imagined myself becoming such close friends with people living a completely different life to me. The Monduli trip is something I would recommend to anyone - because not only is it is a beautiful place with so many amazing people, but also because the work you do on the trip means so much to the people of Monduli."

To find out more about the Monduli Green Project click here.

31st August 2018  Back to News