Fr Anthony Mitchell, Rosminian Fathers
Tanga Region, Tanzania
Fr
Anthony Mitchell, Rosminian Fathers, works as
the school manager of Rosmini Secondary School
located in Pongwe Village in the Tanga Region,
northeast Tanzania.
Rosmini Secondary School is located 12km outside the city of Tanga in a small village called Pongwe. Pongwe is one of the poorest areas in the Tanga Region, where HIV/AIDS is rampant and crippling society. Tanga region was once a major producer of sisal plant. Being a labour intensive industry the sisal plantations attracted large numbers of migrant workers into the area. For many years labouring work was plentiful, requiring no educational qualifications. In the last 20 years the industry collapsed making Tanga region one of the most economically depressed areas of Tanzania. As there had been no established tradition of education among families of labourers on the sisal estates, infrastructure for education was and still is poorly developed.
In 1994 Tanga Cement Company assisted the building of a secondary school in Pongwe to contribute to the community and to help educate young people. In 2000 the Rosminian Congregation was invited to take over the running of the school along with a Board of Governors drawn from parents and members of the local community. I was given the post of school manager, of a school in dire shape with very poor results and hardly any facilities for the children.
The school is coeducational with approximately 340 students, 70% of whom come from the Tanga Region, most from disadvantaged backgrounds and there are a number of orphans. The School Board has made it a priority to give equal opportunity to boys and girls. In 2005 it was decided to expand to double-stream and everyone worked together to make Rosmini one of the top ten schools in Tanzania. In 2008, 760 children applied for 80 places and in 2010 it is planned to take A-level students
In Tanzania, girls lag behind and there is a massive drop-out rate of girls from secondary schools, due to the pressures and responsibilities of home and so the government advises Schools to provide hostel accommodation in order to give them time and opportunity to study. In 2008 in response to this and the request from parents and the local community, we undertook to build additional hostel accommodation for 116 girls. The accommodation was completed and fully functional for this academic year of 2009.
The hostel provides facilities such as water, nutritious food, mosquito protection and an environment where they can study undisturbed during the day and also at night with the use of solar lighting. The girls are in a safe and caring environment enabling them to develop as responsible adults. The holistic environment and improved education will empower the girls to realise their potential and to contribute to the qualified manpower of Tanzania in the future. Presently Tanzania is short 45,000 teachers for secondary schools.
The ownership of the project lies with all the stakeholders and thankfully all of us at Rosmini can say that this is a very successful project!