Update from Rorya, Tanzania
Constructing Nyang’ombe Secondary School for girls has been a community affair!
“It is common in many areas of Tanzania for young girls to be given away in marriage, generally without their consent, in exchange for cattle or money.” (Girls Education Collaborative)
Rorya, Tanzania
The dormitories when they were still under construction. Nearly complete, this project will benefit 500+ people.
In the Mara region of Tanzania, girls are often married off at a young age - the average age is thirteen and some girls are as young as eleven when they are married off! Once married, girls stop their education and have babies, even as they themselves are still young. Even if they were to be able to continue their education, access to secondary education is limited and the few schools that exist are too far away for girls to commute safely.
The Diocese of Rorya is working to remedy this problem by building the first phase of Nyang’ombe girls secondary school. This new school for 150 students will include classrooms, a library, a science laboratory and a computer lab. The church is making sure that the education is affordable to girls in the region.
The Diocese of Rorya has a strong track record in education, evangelism, and holistic development. They are known for helping the community in a variety of ways and, most importantly, have the community's support. We expect Nyang’ombe Secondary School to offer a quality education not found nearby, giving girls the chance to stay in school and gain a high school education. A school chaplain will provide weekly bible studies for the students.
ARDF funds were approved for construction of the classrooms, the laboratory, science lab, and the library. The diocese has provided the land and the furnishings for the classrooms and the labs.
Approved in October 2018, by the summer of 2019, much progress had been made on the buildings. Work slowed down during the pandemic, but currently, the buildings are nearly complete. Only the windows need to be installed. When these are in and the rest of the interior work has finished, ARDF will wire the final installment of the grant funds. (We fund projects in stages, only sending the next round of funding once the agreed upon benchmarks have been met.)
Once the girls are in school, the diocese will submit a final report. Join us in praying that this school will be a blessing to the girls of this community, their families, and their future husbands and children, all of whom will benefit from their education!
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