Global Partners’ 2019-2020 fiscal year ended in the midst of a global pandemic. As the world changed, we began collaborating with local staff, partners, and leaders to determine how to best support East African communities. In additional to the emergency response interventions we immediately implemented, we also began directing an increased percentage of our efforts towards clean water and sanitation projects. Current events have rendered WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) projects more important than ever, but clean water, adequate toilets, and handwashing facilities always play a fundamental role in public health.
As we continue to deepen our impact, we are also building on over 40 years of work in rural East African communities. Our collaborative efforts with local leaders and communities impacted approximately 50,000 East Africans last year and 200,000 in the last five years. One highlight from last year was our partnership with Mwangae Primary School in rural Singida, Tanzania.
The Mwangae community invested in education for their children long before Global Partners entered the scene. They had built classrooms, toilets, and teacher housing; planted trees; and dug a well to provide water. Despite these efforts, the primary school still had a shortage of classrooms. With 583 students and just seven classrooms, the school was divided into two streams of students. Stream A students attended school in the morning, and Stream B students attended during the afternoons.
More than 200 community members showed up to discuss their strengths, assets, needs, and goals for Mwangae Primary School with Global Partners facilitators. In order to reduce congestion and encourage students to attend school more regularly, the community decided to build two additional classrooms. Although Global Partners funded the majority of the classroom construction, the community contributed water, rocks, gravel, labor, and cash to help make the project a success.
Read more about our accomplishments and vision for the future in our latest annual report: 2019/20 Annual Report
