Children from the village of Issenye (Tanzania) waiting to start pre-school.

Issenye, a poor village far from the towns, is located in the Serengeti in the far north of Tanzania.

While tourism is the main source of foreign currency earnings, agriculture is the main source of livelihood for the inhabitants, 80% of whom live in poverty or extreme poverty.

"The village of Issenye doesn't see many visitors or tourists who come to the Serengeti National Park because our road is still made of dirt with holes that are very tiring to walk on. They prefer to go elsewhere, and the local people who live along the road take advantage of this to do a bit of petty trading." Sr Domitienne Esuba

"The region is desert, dry and sandy. The fields, the main source of income, are experiencing a lot of stunted growth due to climatic disturbances.  There aren't many possibilities for drilling, and it's expensive. The cows are starting to lose weight. They are the ones who plough the fields, transport the produce and provide the fresh milk for the feed. There are very few vehicles for local transport. People are already starting to worry about food supplies in the days ahead."

On mission in Tanzania since 2021, Sr Domitienne has been entrusted by her community with the responsibility of building a preschool for very young children from poor families.

"Education is very limited because very few intellectuals or trained people can help others. Children's schooling is really poor because of the poverty of the parents, who are unable to pay the required fees.

Children are too often neglected, left to their own devices while their parents are away working in the fields.  Poorly supervised, they can be abused, sometimes raped or stolen to be sold abroad."

Project: Completing the construction and equipping the new school

"There are a few schools away from the village where there is a small school in a very precarious situation. Many parents refuse to send their children there. Some had sent them to government boarding schools, which have just been abolished for the younger children." Sr Domitienne

After acquiring a plot of land, the Daughters of Charity were able to start building the preschool, named ‘Marguerite Naseau House’, 2 years ago.

"The District Education Inspectorate has accepted the project and has come to give instructions for its construction, but our problem is that the school cannot yet function: the work has taken a long time because of erosion: rainwater has dug a deep hole under the foundations of one classroom. This means that all the buildings need to be landscaped.

We also need to complete the equipment in the classrooms and offices, and build a kitchen. The government requires pupils to eat two meals a day: breakfast and the meal before leaving school. But parents are not giving up hope..." Sr Domitienne

This ‘Load-bearing walls’ project will enable us to complete the work, finance the acquisition of furniture for the classrooms and offices, install sanitary facilities and fit out the kitchen.

"With this school, children will be safe and will benefit from education and instruction instead of being sent to work in the fields."

The beneficiaries

60 or 70 children aged 4 will be looked after by 2 Sisters and 3 teachers. 

Parents will be responsible for helping with administrative tasks and maintenance.

A matron, 2 cooks and 2 day and night caretakers will complete the staff at the school. 

Thanks to your support, these young children will finally be able to start their preschool at the school.