Patandi School

Patandi School is a government-run school in Tengeru Village.

Current Conditions: This school serves 900 local students despite its 14 functioning classrooms. In 2007, school leaders started building a new classroom, but work ceased due to insufficient funding. Ptandi is unique because 158 out of its 900 students suffer from blindness, hearing, speech impairments, autism, and other intellectual and emotional struggles.

Defying the Odds: Without adequate financial support from the government, the school continues expansion efforts from the availability of privately-raised funds. Thanks to the tremendous persistence of village members, the school has made significant progress.

Completed Project: The school and the local community started to build a new pre-school classroom in 2006. However, due to insufficient funds, they were struggling to complete the foundation. In 2007, Bricks + Books established a partnership with Patandi and began to match all fundraising efforts. In 2008, the Bricks + Books team returned to Patandi and witnessed the amazing progress. In 2009, when we returned again, the construction of the new classroom was complete and electricity and running water had been installed.

Current Projects

Agriculture Project: The project, led by Patandi teachers, will give students the opportunity to plant trees that will rehydrate the soil around the school. Once the trees grow, the students will be given the opportunity to take the seeds home to their families to plant. The wood from the trees will also be used to build desks for the school and to generate additional money for the school infrastructure fund.

Computer Lab Project: Currently, Bricks + Books is fundraising to install a computer lab at Patandi Primary School. The installation will take place prior to the start of a one month long computer training camp that will be held during a school break. An important aspect of our proposal is the inter-active training component, which enables the teachers to be trained to use the computers and equipment. The lack of access to computer education has left students attending rural government schools at a disadvantage when seeking higher education and when entering into the Tanzanian job market. Offering computer skills to the students while they are in school will enable the students to have greater opportunities after school even if they are unable to go to secondary school.

The fact that children do not have access to this vital technology means the technology gap is not only increasing but other inequalities are also widening. Our hope is that these computers will level the playing field, providing increased access to education and employment opportunities. Additionally, upon the completion of this project, the implementation of computer labs and training seminars can be used as a replicable model throughout schools in Tanzania.