Tanzania: World Villages for Children open two new houses

Image: World Villages for Children

Source: World Villages

World Villages for Children, a charity whose mission is ending poverty through education, is pleased to announce the inauguration of two new buildings in Dodoma Boystown, Tanzania, the newest school run by the Sisters of Mary.

On 25 March 2025, a new dormitory and gymnasium were opened in a ceremony attended by guests of honour; Archbishop Beatus Kinyaiya, Archbishop of Dodoma, Cardinal Protase Rugambwa, a representative of HE Hon Philip Mpango, Vice President of Tanzania and Hon Prof Adolf Mkenda, Minister of Education, Sciences and Technology (MoEST).

Dodoma Boystown provides free, quality secondary academic and vocational education to the poorest boys from all over Tanzania. The school is funded by supporters in the UK and around the world. This is the fourth Sisters of Mary humanitarian education programme in Tanzania, joining Kisarawe Girlstown and Kiluvya Nursery and the Training Centre for out of school young women near Dar es Salaam.

At the inauguration Archbishop Kinyaiya said: "When I came here today, I was amazed, surprised to see that building, because the last time I was here, there was nothing, just a field. It as if the building has fallen from heaven. Sisters, you have done wonders. And to have such a beautiful school, which in normal times would have been for the children of the very rich. But instead this is a school for the poorest of the poorest."

Dodoma Boystown opened in September 2023 with a single pilot building housing dormitories and classrooms to teach the first group of 175 boys in Form One. In January 2025, Dodoma Boystown welcomed 201 new boys. Building projects continue and when every phase is complete, the school will have the capacity to care for and educate up to 1,000 boys every year.

In school, the boys have access to quality academic and vocational education to equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to find decent work when they finish secondary school. The skills the boys are learning, alongside their nationally accredited academic curriculum, will prepare them with practical skills that match the needs of local employers.

Despite expanding free, compulsory basic education up until four years of secondary school, children living in extreme poverty in Tanzania face barriers to education such as not having enough money for food, transport, uniforms, or textbooks. Tanzania lacks adequate teaching infrastructure to deliver quality education to the growing population. This is why the Sisters of Mary programmes are so vital for the country. They provide not just free quality education, but remove the other barriers by providing food, clothing, education supplies, and quality teaching for thousands of children every year. The Sisters of Mary have a close relationship with MoEST and have their full support in providing much needed educational opportunities for boys and girls living in extreme poverty from all over Tanzania.

In 2018, 54% of the Tanzanian population lived in multidimensional poverty (World Bank)

In 2018, Tanzania was short of 27,000 classrooms at primary level and 2,700 classrooms at secondary level (Government of the URT and UNICEF, 2018). (UNICEF Investing in Tomorrow's Labour Force Report 2024)

In Tanzania, 33% of children who complete primary school do not go on to secondary school and of those who do pass through, only two thirds complete secondary school. (UNICEF Investing in Tomorrow's Labour Force Report 2024)

The Sisters of Mary Tanzanian programmes serve a total of 1,583 children and young women in Tanzania (1,009 girls in Kisarawe Girlstown, 152 toddlers in Kiluvya Nursery, 55 young women in Kiluvya Training Centre and 367 boys in Dodoma Boystown)

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