By Lisa Heinert | Director of Operations
Orkeeswa School continues to excel as one of the top schools in Tanzania, providing high quality, holistic, and community based education to over 360 students and alumni. Our Scholarship Program provides the resources, encouragement, and experiences necessary to continue this level of excellence. With 60 students in need of scholarship support, there is an opportunity to have a direct and immediate impact on our students by providing a scholarship or contributing to our Scholarship Fund.
To see the impacts of our Scholarship Program on our students, hear some of their own reflections on how their education at Orkeeswa School has changed their lives and those of their family members and community.
"Orkeeswa is a community school. And it's a place to get the best education you need in life. My favorite part about the school is the fact that students come to school and go back home to their parents. It allows students to face different challenges at home and learn how to solve them. Because of Orkeeswa School, this community is going to have a lot of educated people - a lot of very, very powerful people who can see different issues going on in the community and try to tackle them." - Edward, Orkeeswa Graduate and Teacher
"I know I am making my community proud by graduating. If you look at my village, not many girls make it this far in their education. So I know that my family and my whole community is proud of me and believes that I can succeed. When I look ahead to my future, I see myself giving back to my community by working at a hospital in my village." Memusi, 12th grade
"My community usually discourages girls from pursuing an education. Girls attending school is thought to be a waste of time and money because girls will eventually marry and follow their husbands to another community. Despite this culture, my parents and Orkeeswa School encouraged me to pursue my education becuase they believed in the education of girls and they knew I could do it." - Sioni, Orkeeswa Graduate and Global Scholar
"At Orkeeswa, students and teachers are like family. Everyone is happy and free and knows they can count on one another. Orkeeswa is the place that made me who I am. I can connect with the students because we are from the same community." - Mimutye, Orkeeswa Graduate and Teacher
"In other places, students go to school to pass national exams. But here at Orkeeswa, students go to school to learn how to learn." - Isaya, 12th grade
"I am not just playing basketball to improve myself, I am playing it to improve my country. Many girls in Tanzania feel like they don't have a voice, and poeple see them as weak. But I want to change that and prove that girls are strong." - Neema, 9th grade
"All of the extra curricular activities at Orkeeswa have made such a big impact on my life and future. Each of them have developed a new skill within me and taught me that I can be anything I want to be." - Dickson, 12th grade
"Orkeeswa School has opened our eyes as a community and because of the school, we believe that in years to come our community will make real progress." - Baba Mzee, Community Leader
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