Facing the Future of Education

Sustainable conservation means uplifting and impacting the communities surrounding the Grumeti concession. Our relationships department is key in ensuring we create meaningful long-lasting relationships with the communities that have been here years before us and will be here years after us. Uplighting and educating the surrounding communities is pertinent in making our conservation practices sustainable.  

 We hear this all the time that education is the key to success, at Grumeti we continue to prove through education that positive change can happen. One of our biggest goals is to change the daily lives of the communities surrounding the concession.  

We are determined that education will reach every corner in Tanzania. The Government of Tanzania has ensured that every ward and village in the country has a primary school and free primary education.  Grumeti Fund continues to support these education initiatives by giving back where we can.  

Singisi village is adjacent to the Grumeti concession with approximately 3000 people. The primary school has approximately 800 students from both Singisi and Motekeri village that attend, but only  one building in good condition built in 2002; the primary school was initially built in 1974. 

Even with education now being free, the challenge is creating a safe environment for students and teachers to be able to thrive in. Not only do want to create a physically safe environment, but there are challenges in having enough dedicated and qualified teachers, teaching materials, modern facilities, healthy meals, and even enough desks.  

These challenges discourage many parents from bringing their children to school and poor academic performance.  

When we started the renovations of the Singisi primary school in 2021, the classes had no concrete floors, students would sit on bricks on the floors, class walls were falling, and it was really an unfit place for children to be.  

One of the elders, known as Mzee Christopher, in Singisi village who was part of the team that built the primary school in 1974, said:   

“Grumeti Fund has helped transform most of our neighboring villages, and now the primary school in our village. When we see this as the village members, we have the courage to change our perspectives on conservation. 

 Some of us are ex poachers, who never understood what conservation was before Grumeti Fund came and educated us and our children.” 

The school headmaster, Mr. Vicent Okworo (In the photo above) said, “we don’t only receive students from our village but also from the villages surrounding us. With these modern buildings, we expect to have good attendance and high performance. Last year our school was 31 out of 100 schools in the district for performance. We truly believe we will rank higher in the coming year, and we are grateful to Grumeti Fund for their kindness in renovating the school.“ 

Some of the new classes at Singisi Primary School 

Today after 47 years, students at Singisi Primary School will study in modern, safe classrooms that will allow them to study in all weather conditions.   

To all the donors that make this possible with the generous donations, we continue to thank you and ask that you continue supporting our Grumeti Fund education programs.