School. “After I came here, everything
changed,” she said. “I’m studying hard to
reach my goal to be a teacher. Everyone is
given a chance to express herself and we get
to share ideas. We are learning how to be
visionary leaders.”
She said that after school each day,
she went home and shared with her
mother what she was learning at school.
“. . .we educate our mothers, we educate
even others around the community.
Now, because I am a student, anything is
possible for me through my hard working
at school. Opportunities are open. I
would like one day to see all of them,
everybody, to get education, to see girls
and boys, going to school together.”
Bertha is now in 12th grade and
studying Chemistry, Biology, Geography
and Math. She is scheduled to go to
University in the fall of 2017!
Positive Outcomes
Through the leadership of Rotarians
Lorena Tuohey and Chuck Berghoff of
Morgan Hill, Bella Mahoney of Saratoga,
and Allan Va rni of Los Altos, eight Bay
Area Rotary Clubs (mentioned earlier)
have funded a $57,815 grant to cover
much-needed additions to the school
campus. A new mobile “TabLab” provides
students with tablet computers so they
can access high quality educational
content online, offl ine and off the grid—a
critical advantage in remote communities.
TabLab comes with 20 tablets, a server
with a terabyte of content, and two years
of teacher training. Students can work
in groups, and pursue project-based
learning, using the tablets at custom desks
built by local tradesmen. The school
was also retrofi tted with modern solar
panels, sourced in-country and installed
by local tradesmen, to provide a continu-
ous natural source of electricity. Washing
stations were installed to deliver clean
running water to support daily hygiene.
Anne Cross, IEFT board member and an
ambassador for Rotary
Today , Orkeeswa provides secondary school education to more than 250 youth, more
than 55 percent of whom are girls. According to its 2015 Annual Report, Orkeeswa is
one of the highest performing schools in Tanzania with a pass rate of 100 percent for
8th, 10th and 12th Grade students. It has 18 graduates now enrolled in college/uni-
versity degree programs, and 21 undergrads serving as volunteer teachers and coaches
in local primary schools. Orkeeswa students performed 12,262 hours of community
service through student-led proje