The Village

The Ng'iresi Village is located 6 kilometers outside of Arusha on the steep slopes of Mount Meru. Most of the village people are farmers of the Wa-arusha tribe. The Wa-arusha are family of the Maasai, but have gradually shifted from pastoralism to agriculture. There are about 900 homes in the village, which measures around 1347 square meters. Most villagers use kerosene lamps. Some Wa-arusha are still living in the traditional bomas, others try hard to build up stone houses; some still depend on their cows, others have cultivated large plots. The village shows the transition from traditional into modern African life.

The School

The Ng'iresi Primary School was built in 1975. There are 30 teachers and 1,030 students. The school is currently run by headmaster, Benjamin Bartholomew who has 10 years experience in the educational field. What it is like to be a student or teacher? The first challenge is getting to school, which most children do by foot/bike which takes about 15 to 30 minutes. Once in the classroom, not only is desk space limited, lessons are taught from one copy of a textbook which the teacher uses and must share with the students. The students also have very limited access to general school supplies, which makes learning even more of a challenge. Can you imagine not having paper and a pencil to take notes? With this fundraising drive, we hope to give the students greater access to supplies as well as improve their school grounds, so they have a functioning place to learn. However, learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom! So another goal is to equip the children with sports equipment to give them an outlet to socialize, exercise and have fun!