Tanzania’s Manyara Primary Boarding School, nestled in the reaches of the Babati Rural District, is composed of a resilient community of students all pursuing an education with enthusiasm despite their impoverished circumstances. With a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.532, the people of Tanzania deal with many challenges with which the children of Manyara would be familiar. According to the most recent statistics available, 88.6% of Tanzania’s population are not using safely-managed sources of drinking water (2022), and 45% are living in extreme poverty, earning less than $2.15 a day (2018). The statistics speak for themselves in illustrating the systemic obstacles facing these children as they pursue a primary education owed to them by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And it is our mission to do as much as we can to assist them in this endeavour.

We are a team of students from the University of Wollongong who are passionate about making a positive impact on our world and finding our place in it. Supported by a team of mentors with a deep connection to East Africa, we hope to do just that. Last year, representatives from the University of Wollongong like ourselves collaborated with Manyara Public school and the Tanzanian local community in order to complete a partial restoration of the school’s Girls’ Dormitory, but much more work still needs to be done. We aim to continue this partnership, which will include delivering much-needed repairs to the school’s roofing and installing water tanks to provide these children with water, is a necessary step in ensuring that the children of Manyara Primary Boarding School are able to live the safe, dignified lives they deserve.

You too, have the power to assist us in this pressing mission. Any amount you are willing to give in service of this cause is incredibly appreciated, and will be used directly in the purchasing of necessary infrastructure for the school such as the aforementioned water tanks. This is a self-funded trip, meaning that we students are financing our own costs, such as flights, accommodation and food. Therefore, anything that you graciously give will go exclusively to providing aid to those in need.

These children have been born into unjust circumstances, having been denied their rights for so long. And yet, in spite of their situation, they continue to demonstrate an extraordinary amount of both resilience and optimism. We need your help in giving substance to their hope, and providing them circumstances to pursue the education they deserve.