Books for Tanzanian Schools

These kids are asking for textbooks to read in their classes!
A donation of any amount will help us raise the money to ship textbooks to Tanzanian schools.

Will you help?


Despite growth resulting from gold production and tourism, Tanzania remains one of the most impoverished countries in the world. Approximately 36 percent of Tanzanians live below the poverty line, on less than a dollar a day. Yet the country's economic potential is unmistakable.


The literacy rate in Tanzania is estimated to be 73 percent. Education is compulsory for seven years (Grade 1-7), until children reach age 15, but most children do not attend school this long, and some do not attend at all. In 2000, 57 percent of children age 5"“14 years were attending school. However, only some of those graduate from grade school attend to high school and only a few of these manage to transition to college.


One of the obstacles of quality education is lack of books. Even classroom sitting arrangement is done in such a way that students have squeeze together so that they can be able to share reading materials. Not all have books and most cannot photocopy the only book (most probably teacher's) so that they can have their copies to read.


This can give you an idea on how situation is: For last 5 years some Americans have visited Tanzania with Fr. Peter. Some of the visiting sites are schools. The visitors could hardly believe to see that each student had a big binder copybook rather than a textbook to study their class material. The visitors thought each student had a text book just as the teacher was using their textbook.


In 2012 we visited St. Amedeus Catholic High school, and visited junior high class during Physics class. One of the American guests, Leo Yau, an expert in Electric Engineering was interested to see what the text book students were using since the topic was "Electric Circuits!" He reached out and picked one of the big-thick-binder of the students was using. It was only then he became the first guest discover the secret which none of the visitors ever discovered for the last 5 years!


The thick-binder was not a textbook. It was notebook in which students write notes and draw all the diagrams so that they can have something to read after lecture. There was only one textbook, the teacher's. She came to class with it, made some notes on the black-board and the students would copy the notes and diagrams in their copy-book binders! Students have never touched that textbook!


We are in the 21^st Century, for heaven's sake! These students deserve to read a book! While American students are now reading their books on iPad and Kindles, the Tanzanian students are asking for a "used copy of paper book" to read. The Beaverton Rotary Club is willing to sponsor shipping a container of books. We are asking you to help pay for clearing and local transportation costs.


It costs $5,000 to ship one container from Portland to Moshi, Tanzania.

We are hoping to have all the books and other school supplies staged and ready for shipment by the end of March 2014.

Please, be part of this great mission of making a real difference to the poorest of the poor!



Sincerely, Fr. Peter.