I suppose we learned from the start that just because you build a school, no matter how beautiful and child-centered it is, the vision may not ‘take hold’ overnight. That first year in 2017, the Sisters had to knock on doors and convince families to let their girls attend. Girls did come and the school grew, albeit slowly.
2021 enrollment was a benchmark because, as a Sister reported on enrollment day, “I could hardly believe my eyes, instead of us knocking on doors, girls are lined up to attend – many of them with their fathers or grandfathers.” That was a pretty great piece of news!
2022? The curve balls of the early years were dodged and fixed and now it all seems to be really coming together: a beautiful, environmentally conscientious school delivering top-notch academics wrapped in a holistic – whole girl approach. The outcomes are measurable and they are real.
Hence, we are excited to be sharing with you that this year’s incoming class is 85% larger than last year’s! At this writing there are 78 new students! GEC will be underwriting as many tuitions in this year’s Form One as we did for the whole school last year. Our conclusion – that we are not the only ones recognizing the Kitenga Girls Secondary School in Tanzania is making an IMPACT on girls’ lives. The word is getting out into the community – the community the school was built to serve. If you build it? Yes, they will come.
~ Anne