Moshe, TZ – School partnership is building hope – Aug 2025
Students and teachers from St Catherine’s School in the UK visited Maendeleo Primary School two months ago to assist the school on its path to delivering a sustainable breakfast to the students. St Catherine’s team and the Maendeleo community worked together on these projects:
Construction of a protective garden fence to protect against thieves and stray animals eating vegetables and damaging banana trees.
The newly built garden fence now protects the valuable resources invested in the commercial garden, which is thriving and approaching its first harvest. The income generated from selling the produce will help cover the sustainability costs of the program.
Preparation and planting of a new commercial garden, which will earn income for the school to pay for the inputs needed for the gardens.
Repair and improvement of the school’s garden watering system to support the expanded commercial garden.
The success of the garden—especially the vegetables and bananas—has been made possible by the reliable availability of water, from planting to the current stage, just weeks before harvest.
Beautiful mural paintings on classroom walls to assist with creating an energizing learning environment.
We’ve also seen a joyful transformation in our students. They now enjoy learning in their newly painted classrooms, and we believe this improved environment is positively impacting their academic performance.
These shared experiences are creating a bond between our communities and lasting memories filled with life skills, cultural traditions, and valuable learning moments. The positive energy left behind continues to inspire and uplift our community.
We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to this life-changing initiative. The partnership between St Catherine’s and Maendeleo has become a bridge of hope and opportunity.
As we look to the future, we continue to pray and work together to address some of the ongoing challenges in our school such as need for teacher housing, office equipment, and increased income to make the Grow-own-Breakfast (GOB) program more sustainable.
Teacher housing is essential for improving the security of school infrastructure, especially during holidays and weekends, and for raising teachers’ home time and working energy by saving them from walking up to 16 KM each work day.
Photocopy and printer machines are needed for printing enough learning materials, exercises and examination papers to support the students’ academic growth.
The commercial garden expansion is needed for generating enough income to cover both food production and school operating costs, ensuring our children are well-fed and healthy every school day.
Together, we believe we can overcome these challenges and continue building a brighter future for our children and community.
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