The Masai in the steppe in northern Tanzania on the Ruvu River have developed numerous self-help projects over the past two decades. The association MAPED is an impressive example of this with its idea of creating help “from Masai for Masai”. MAPED stands for “Masai Pastoralist for Education Work” and has set itself the task of tackling the three major problem areas of “human rights”, “education” and “hygiene”. The founding of the “Engata Primary School” in Ruvu Rimiti in 2009 was intended to advance the entire decentralized region and give the children there the chance of a high-quality school education. The school currently houses 120 students from pre-school to 7th grade who are taught in English by 12 teachers. The performance of the students is outstanding compared to the rest of the country, but due to extreme poverty in the region, a weak financial basis and a lack of local know-how regarding administration and planning, the school has struggled to survive from the very beginning.
Elatia
Tansania
School education forms the basis for solving a wide range of problems and for changes. With the construction of a new school building, two more classrooms are created so that each class has its own room and the capacity of the school is expanded. This improves the educational opportunities for the children in the region.
Project name
Elatia
Location
Tansania
Project partner
Elatia eV (Kimasai for "neighbor") has been supporting the work of the Tanzanian NGO MAPED (Masai pastoralist for education work) financially and with advice and action since it was founded in 2019, which founded the Engata Primary School in the Masai steppe in northern Tanzania and operates.
Project partner's website
Project partner's aim
Improvement of the educational situation in the southern Maasai steppe through the construction of a new school building (2 classrooms + 1 office) for the Engata Primary School. This gives each class its own classroom, so that the school situation for the 120 students is greatly improved and capacity is created for more school children.
Aim of the BeA Foundation
Financing of the construction of a new school building that offers the children a learning space, the school staff a work area and the school equipment shelter. The roof area is also needed to collect vital rainwater for the school’s drinking water supply.
From Masai for Masai - the Engata Primary School
Elatia e.V. – the helping neighbor
In the winter of 2019, former development workers and friends of MAPED founded the German association Elatia eV, which took the Kimasai word for “neighbor” as its name. Because a helping neighbor was exactly what the Masai from MAPED had been missing up until then. A productive cooperation between the two associations developed under the slogan “Neighborhood thought globally”. With the help of Elatia, school buildings have been renovated in recent years, a school kitchen and a girls’ boarding school have been built and new school books have been purchased. A new drinking water system is currently being built. All this was only possible thanks to generous donations from friends and sponsors, foundations and a lot of voluntary work in Tanzania and Germany.
Further expansion of the school
In order to achieve the long-term goal of the Masai of MAPED and to be able to let the school work completely independently, the expansion and further development of the school operations are absolutely necessary. As the next major project, another urgently needed school building is to be built with the help of the BeA Foundation, which will offer space for two classrooms and an office. After completion, all classes would have their own classroom.
But not only the rooms are urgently needed, but also the roof area, which, thanks to rain gutters and cisterns, will make a valuable contribution to the drinking water supply of the school and the entire region. Due to this double function of the school, the acceptance of education and development is also very high in the older generations, which is probably the main reason for the great educational success of the school, in addition to the committed teachers.