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The Zanzibari Sustainability Champions

The Vision

In rural Tanzania, including on the island of Unguja (Zanzibar), investment in social development is very limited. Teachers are poorly paid in government schools; they face enormous class sizes and few facilities. A scan across the results from year 4 primary school students in the coastal town of Nungwi, where our Zanzibari Hotel lies, shows over half the students fail to gain any grade across all subjects. A grade E (lowest available) is considered good, a D is excellent, and a C is truly exceptional. No one gets A’s & B’s!

It is the teaching limitations which disable academic development not a lack of ability or will. If we can seek out the young students who manage to register any kind of grade, nurture them for a year in our own classroom, preparing them for the one private school in the area where grades are much higher, we can change this. The students able to pass the school exam at the end of the year will have their superior education paid for by ourselves until graduation.

To remain in the programme and receive such a leg up, they must commit themselves to our sustainability champion programme. Each week they will have additional lessons in sustainable development goals. They must take part in projects and use their newfound understanding to teach others. They must commit to becoming true global citizens intent on creating a fairer, more equitable world, whether as captains of industry or civil servants.

The Zanzibari Sustainability Champions

In February 2024, sixteen children, aged ten years, were chosen based on government exam results and family means. Each receive private tuition, each weekend, in our own, specially built classroom on the hotel premises. The aim is for as many as possible to pass the entrance exam for the best school in the North of Zanzibar come November 2024. All who pass will be fully funded by the company throughout their education. Along the way, they will receive weekly lessons in SDGs and undertake their own projects. There will be a new intake every three years, and we hope all will become true global citizens. After just six months of extra tuition the first students are preparing to perform their own play about waste and the early rehearsals show great promise:

SDGs addressed:
SDG 2 – Diet, SDG 3 – Health, SDG 4 – Education, SDG 5 – Gender Equality, SDG 8 – Economic Opportunity, SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption, SDG 13 – Climate Change, SDG 14 – Life below Water, SDG 15 – Life on Land, SDG 17 – Partnerships for goals

After barely six months of extra tuition each Sunday, our 10 & 11 year old sustainability champions have leapt forward in the understanding of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and have picked up a remarkable level of English. Their progress has allowed us to begin rehearsals for a play about waste. Judge for yourselves their evolving performance skills and imagine what a triumph the play will be once rehearsals are complete.