All of Quest’s volunteer projects are a long-term relationship between us and a local partner, who work on grass-roots development initiatives in collaboration with local communities. This way we can make sure that our teams undertake work which is part of an established development plan and that it will be both sustainable and beneficial.
The Livingstone Tanzania Trust:
LTT (www.livingstonetanzaniatrust.com) are our project partner for the Tanzania Gap Year and summer project teams. A small NGO, they work with rural communities around Babati to alleviate poverty through improvement in education faciliites, sustainable agriculture and income generation schemes. Their aim is to:
- Improve the educational environment by: renovating school facilities, reducing class sizes by constructing new classrooms and improving teacher resources, skills and knowledge.
- Imrpove the health of the community through education and diet.
- Develop sustainable sources of income for the schools and community to allow them to become self sufficient and to ensure project sustainability.
Their work is focused in 3 key areas:
1. Schools:
Education is the key to a brighter future for Tanzanian children and LTT works to develop rural schools into safe, inspiring and stimulating environments in which children can grow and learn. Not only does this require construction and renovation work, but also skills training for teachers and the provision of desks, textbooks and other resources to ensure all children are able to learn effectively.
2. School Farms:
The majority of the local community are subsistence farmers. LTT is working to help these people increase their annual yield which increases income and decreases malnutrition. The school farms act as demonstration farms, allowing children to learn key irrigation, composting and farming skills so they can run successful farms in the future where necessary. The farm also provides an income for the school, with livestock and crops being sold to pay for maintenance and resources – meaning in the future the school will be self-sustaining.
3. Community Groups:
LTT also supports local community groups, providing skills training and micro-loans. These groups have organised activities such as making and selling fuel-efficient stoves (which reduces the need for firewood by up to 80%), electric-free fridges, a rainwater harvesting business, fish ponds and a pig-farming enterprise.
A focus on community participation:
LTTs development plans are very much driven by and for the local communities in which they work. Many of the ideas and enterprises which can been seen working successfully on the school farms are copied, developed and taken up by other community groups, spreading simple, but effective development ideas throughout the area.