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A former refugee helps deliver key classroom resources to Burundian students in Tanzania
Tanzania ranks as one of the safest countries in Africa, with a long history of accepting refugees from neighboring nations.
The country is home to Katumba Camp, one of the oldest and largest refugee camps in the world. Established in 1972 for Burundian citizens escaping mass extermination by the government against its Hutu citizens, Katumba has a population of at least 84,000 refugees and its numbers continue to grow.
It began in 1972
Refugees from Burundi have tended to come to Tanzania in waves. After 1972, another wave followed between 1993 and 2005 as the country engaged in a second civil war. In 2015, a failed coup attempt led to further unrest and violence in Burundi, displacing hundreds of thousands of people to neighboring countries, including Tanzania.
Children pay the price
Over half of Katumba’s residents are children, many without access to schools. Only 8% of youth in the camp attend secondary school.* Though these headline-worthy statistics are not featured prominently in international newsfeeds, this amounts to an educational crisis for the children of Katumba.
One of these children was Norbert Mbwiliza, who came to Tanzania with his parents as an infant in the early 1970s. Equipped with firsthand experience of the challenges refugees face, Mbwiliza now runs a non-profit based in Arusha called Norbert and Friends, a TSI partner with the mission of supporting two schools in Katumba Camp. Mbwiliza himself attended one of them as a child: Msaginya Primary School.
A technology deficit
Mbwiliza approached TSI with one of the of the greatest needs at Msaginya: technology. In response, TSI funded 20 locally sourced Chromebook laptops for students to aid in research, writing, and to help them utilize educational apps commonly used in U.S. classrooms but not easily accessed in rural Tanzania.
Though technology is one tool in each child’s toolkit and interactions with teachers and other students remain at the center of each school day, Chromebooks provide a way for students to access information that reinforces their classroom experience. Mbwiliza was thrilled to deliver the good news to the school, and hand-delivered the Chromebooks himself.
“I had a wonderful time with the pupils of Msaginya,” he said. “[The Chromebooks] have brought great joy to the community and the pupils at the school. We are truly grateful.” •
Please pray for the children of Katumba Camp and celebrate this new resource for them!
TOP PHOTO: Norbert and his team distribute Chromebooks funded by TSI to students at Msaginya Primary School in Katumba Camp, Tanzania.
Msaginya Primary School
"[The Chromebooks] have brought great joy to the community and the pupils at the school. We are truly grateful."
- Norbert Mbwiliza
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