Tanzania: Pushing for Girl Education Among the Maasai

By Abela Msikula

LIKE other Tanzanian tribes, which used to deny girl children the right to education, the Maasai in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), were also on the

list.

Girls were mostly assigned to look for cattle, on top of other home chores. Parents advanced such reasons as long distances from homes to schools as the major hindrance for the girls in getting education.

NCCA has started offering school buses and meals (porridge), while supporting the government in improvement of school infrastructure. In the past five years, it has contributed approximately 1.5bn/-to support education in and around the conservation area.

Part of the fund was allocated for construction of classrooms, teachers' houses and latrines for Ereko, Irrikipori, IItulele and Masamburui primary schools, according NCAA Community Development Manager, Mdala Fedes.

"Having improved school environments, all children strive to get education. You could have proved this, but the schools are now temporarily closed due to coronavirus outbreak," he said. The NCAA funds were also used for the construction of Embarway and Nainokanoka secondary schools girls hostels, laboratories, teachers' houses, offices and classrooms.

The money was spent for purchase of generators and school buses as well as providing incentives to teachers. NCAA plans to construct special boarding schools for female students outside its boundaries as part of promoting girls education.

All these plans will be implemented in the coming fiscal year, according to Fedes. NCAA has encouraged the formation of Pastoral Council through which students are being supported from primary to tertiary level.

"We now fight for gender balance as most of those benefiting from the Pastoral Council are male children. We are certain that special schools will play a big role to promote girl education," he explained. More than 6,000 students have been supported through the Pastoral Council.

Commenting on other social services offered by the authority to the community living within the conservation area, Fedes said that nearly four water wells have been built. NCAA had set up solar systems and generators at all water wells, for full-time water pumping to make the service available for the communities.

A ten-cell leader for Emotoni neighborhood in Kayapsi village of Ngorongoro Ward, Mr Tililya Olikeli appreciated NCAA efforts to improve the livelihoods of the communities. He also called for improvements in the school transport system which has helped school attendance.

In the past, children were reluctant to go to school fearing the wild animals during their journeys to school. NCAA Commissioner, Dr Freddy Manongi, said that availability of all social services to the community is among the authority's priorities. He said the tourism sector has been hit severely by the impact of the outbreak Covid-19.

"Development projects are supported by guests. Always, this is a period (March-May) we call a low season wherein the authority used to collect at least 300m/-a day. But currently we get not more than 20m/-a day because we don't receive tourists," he says. "All other projects have suspended because of the disease."

Read the original article on Daily News.