June 23, 2017
What Could Be More Epic?
May 24th, 2017 was the Dedication/Inauguration/celebration, of the opening of the Kitenga School For Girls. May 24th was an epic day. Why? For so many reasons: Mother Nature rested her harsh rains; the new campus looked beautiful and the ceremonial tents, like a fairytale castle. The program demonstrated the girls’ passion, devotion and pride in their…
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June 5, 2017
The Dedication of Kitenga School For Girls
The day stated around 10:00am with a Mass. A choir from Utegi came to sing and it was very joyful. Around midday the school was officially inaugurated and the ribbon was cut by Sister Bernadette, the school nurse. The priests, sisters and rest of the crowd went through each building to bless the school: science…
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May 22, 2017
WBFO Features Opening of Kitenga School for Girls
The Girls Education Collaborative continues to support the education of young women in developing countries. WBFO’s senior reporter Eileen Buckley met with the organization’s executive director, Anne Wadsworth, who is now in Tanzania, for the grand opening of a new school supporting girls’ education. Listen now.
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March 8, 2017
IWD: The Rights Women in the West Take for Granted Are Still a Dream in Tanzania
This International Women’s Day, we implore you to truly think internationally. The rights we western women have enjoyed for decades are not yet guaranteed to women and girls in towns and villages in countries all over the world. While we fight for equal pay, stature and opportunity, women in other countries are just beginning to…
Read MoreDecember 21, 2016
Female Genital Mutilation and What We Can Do To Stop It
I recently returned from Kitenga, Tanzania, where our organization, Girls Education Collaborative (GEC), is working with a community-led initiative to create more opportunities for girls through education. Days after returning to the US, I turned around to leave for Washington, DC to participate in the first US Summit to End Violence Against Girls. While in…
Read MoreDecember 7, 2016
Girls Being Girls in Kitenga
Dear Friends, I have recently returned from an almost three week stay in Tanzania. It was a trip like none other. For the first time since five years ago, when GEC became a part of this incredible project, there were girls on campus- living in the dorms. Attending classes. Doing homework under solar lanterns. Playing…
Read MoreNovember 14, 2016
A True Collaboration- Our First Project
In January, 2017, Tanzanian girls at risk of forced marriage, genital mutilation, domestic violence, sexual assault, and otherwise circumscribed futures will take imperative steps toward self-actualization when they begin secondary coursework at the newly built Kitenga School for Girls. It is a project GEC is infinitely proud and fortunate to be a part of. But…
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September 26, 2016
Rolling Out the Road
The lack of a road into the 1,000 acre Kitenga School for Girls campus was very problematic during the construction phase of the facilities. Lorries got stuck, materials couldn’t be delivered, workers were waylaid. The heavy and prolonged el Nino rains made it clear that a dependable road was needed to not only ensure the…
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October 19, 2015
Kitenga School for Girls – an important update
It starts with a vision on how to make a better world. This particular vision is to empower women and put an end to female genital mutilation and child marriages. It is a vision to lift an under-served and impoverished community towards a better, more dignified life. It began over 20 years ago when the…
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September 14, 2015
The State of Education in Tanzania
In 2001, under pressure from international stakeholders, the Tanzanian government established the Primary Education Development Program (PEDP), which made school compulsory for 7- to 15-year-olds and officially abolished mandatory primary school fees as a means of increasing enrollment. On some level, the program seems to be working. Primary school enrollment did increase from 4.4 million…
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