Moshi,TZ – The value of parents assistance for growing vegetables and bananas for breakfast at Soko Primary School – Sep 2025
At Soko Primary School, parents have been working shoulder to shoulder with teachers and students to support the Grow-own-Breakfast (GOB) program, a community-driven initiative aimed at providing healthy, sustainable meals for children.
To strengthen their efforts, the parents formed a village community bank known as Alpha Group. The group has developed a well-structured management system that allows members to contribute to the school in various meaningful ways.
Some parents donate materials from their homes and surroundings, such as organic manure, to enrich the school farm.
Others volunteer their time and energy, helping with demanding tasks like digging banana holes and preparing the land.
A third group helps market the farm’s produce. They buy vegetables for their households and assist in selling surplus harvests at nearby local markets. This generates income that helps cover the farm’s operational costs, ensuring its sustainability.
This strong collaboration between parents and the school has led to several indirect benefits:
• Motivation and Pride: Students and teachers feel energized and proud, knowing their community stands behind them.
• Security and Ownership: The presence of many community members involved in the project has enhanced the security of farm produce and infrastructure. It has also fostered a strong sense of ownership, which is key to long-term sustainability.
• Health Awareness: Exposure to organic farming has raised awareness about healthy eating. Some parents have reported improved health after switching from chemically grown produce to organic harvests from the school farm.
The parents are needing capital to assist them to strengthen their own family economic activities, so they can increase their contributions to the school. Capital will enable them to invest to improve their livelihoods and assist the school’s breakfast, garden fence, and Parent Assistance Award Program (PAAP) projects like parents assisting with repairing and purchasing new desks that are funded by an artists’ collaborative Art Gallery for Better Lives in Seal Beach, California. The school currently needs 47 desks.
Therefore, Tupendane is working to increase the VICOBA (Village Community Bank) fund to support special parent-led groups like Alpha. Tupendane aims to sustain the spirit of community investment and ensure the long-term success of the GOB program at Soko Primary School by empowering the Alpha Group with a loan.
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