SONGAS IS SUPPORTING STUDENT VOLUNTEERING AND EDUCATION IN RUFIJI AND KILWA DISTRICTS

SONGAS has sponsored READ International volunteers to carry out a library refurbishment at Kilwa Day and Mohoro Secondary Schools. The work began on 17 February and the 2 libraries were opened officially on the 11th and 12th March 2015.

The refurbishment of the 2 libraries was funded by SONGAS and was carried out by 9 READ International volunteers as part of the Library Refurbishment Programme. SONGAS has been operating in both Rufiji and Kilwa districts for the past 10 years, is a valued development stakeholder and is dedicated to support education projects. The READ volunteers spent 3 and half weeks at the school, sorting the books, referencing them, getting appropriate furniture made, painting and decorating the library room. They also ran different library activities to encourage students to get into the habit of reading and to train students how to use the different learning materials.

While this is a refurbishment of the pre-existing Kilwa Day Secondary library, this constitutes a brand new library for Mohoro Secondary School. These two libraries will support a total of 959 students to be able to access books for independent study and reading. A total 1,445 new books, valued at TZS 12.9 million, were added to the new libraries as well as reference books collected in the UK. Additional books for the Kilwa Day Secondary School library were purchased with funds from the Corona Society.

The Kilwa Opening Ceremony was a festive occasion and included songs composed by students about the library. The District Executive Director, Mrs Maimuna Mtanda attended as the guest of honour. The Kilwa Headmaster thanked Read International and SONGAS for working tirelessly to refurbish the library, adding 1400 books and making access to the resources easier. Mrs Mtanda noted that SONGAS has been a generous supporter and development stakeholder in Kilwa district. “The refurbishment of the Kilwa Library is just the latest in a series of assistance packages. SONGAS has given scholarships to 103 students in our district and has donated 600 corrugated iron sheets and 1500 bags cement for the construction of school laboratories. All this is for the benefit of the future human resources of Kilwa”. She urged teachers to use the wide range of textbooks, reference books and fiction to build a reading culture within the school community.

Mr Nicodemus Chipakapaka of SONGAS urged Kilwa students to be inspired by the university student volunteers and congratulated the READ volunteers for giving up their time and efforts to take part in the programme. A total of 15.5 million Tanzanian shillings was invested in the refurbishment of the Kilwa Library. The nine volunteers are students of the university of Dar-es-Salaam in various subjects. They reported that their work has consisted of repairing the leaky roof, replacing damaged ceiling board, painting the room, referencing and organising the library books, repairing damaged furniture and commissioning new furniture.

On the 12th March, the opening ceremony at the Mohoro Secondary School in Rufiji, was an equally jovial event. The ceremony began with student performances and was followed by speeches by the Headmaster, District Education Officer, District Academic Officer, local Councillor of Chumbi ward, SONGAS representative and the guest of honour, the District Executive Director of Rufiji Mr Rashid Salum. The Headmaster declared that “shortage of books is now a thing of the past” and requested that the district facilitate the hiring of a full-time librarian to man this new school resource. In response, the Mr Salum, vowed to take on the challenge of finding a librarian for the school. Mr Nicodemus Chipakapaka of SONGAS urged the students to repay the volunteers’ and SONGAS’ efforts by using the library to study and strive for higher education. A total of 15.5 million Tanzanian shillings was invested in the refurbishment of the Mohoro Library.

Both communities expressed their thanks to SONGAS for collaborating with READ International to ensure that their students now have access to textbooks in all subjects. The local Councillor of Chumbi ward likened the students to football players who do not have a football field or equipment, saying “Our students used to study and read without the adequate resources or space. With this fully-equipped library, our students now have access to an appropriate study/reading space and both textbooks and fiction reading books”.