Giving Tuesday · December 1
This Giving Tuesday, you choose where your gift goes
Teacher training, library books, or the operations that keep it all running. Every gift, any size, helps a Tanzanian public school keep doing what works.
Choose where your gift goes
On the donation form, pick one of these from the dropdown. Not sure? Choose "Flexible - Give Where Most Needed" and we'll put it to work where it matters most.
Teacher Training · Goal
$17,000
adds one more school to STEP for a year: trainers, mentoring visits, and classroom materials.
Every gift, any size, brings the next school closer.
GIVE TO TEACHER TRAININGLibrary Books · Goal
1,000 books
to keep the Kisimani library shelves full for 1,600 students, through our partners at Books2Africa.
Just $1 buys one book.
GIVE LIBRARY BOOKSSustainable Operations · Annual Goal
$250,000
lets us expand our work and professionalize how we run it. $85,000 is already pledged.
Every gift, any size, moves us closer.
GIVE TO OPERATIONSWhy teacher training, why now
It should never hurt to be a child
At Kisimani, teachers lead their classrooms without the cane, and our students have thrived. But in many Tanzanian public schools, beatings are still a normal part of the school day. Corporal punishment is still legal in mainland Tanzania's schools, and in recent months, students have died after being beaten by the adults charged with teaching them.
In the news · The Citizen · August 2026
"Six teachers arrested after student allegedly beaten over poor mock exam results dies"
A student in Bunda District collapsed during a caning over mock exam results and later died in hospital.
READ THE ARTICLEIn the news · Mwananchi (in Swahili)
"A former teacher and two school guards were sentenced to 10 years in prison over a student's death"
A Tanzanian court has held school staff responsible for a student's death.
READ THE ARTICLE
STEP is our answer
The Scaling Teacher Efficacy Program
Kisimani proved that discipline doesn't require violence. Our teachers trained in positive behavior management, and our students went on to rank #1 in the region. The government keeps asking for our secret, so we're sharing it: STEP takes the training that works at Kisimani to other public schools, so more children are safe in their classrooms.
Thanks to pledged annual funding from a private foundation grant, we launched STEP as a pilot in three schools in July 2026. Our partners at EPI, led by Samwel Yonah, trained 50 teachers from Madamigha, Makhandi, and Mwakabiji schools on Module 1, "Valuing a Child," and every teacher got a mentoring visit in August. Student protection clubs are starting, too. District Education Officers joined the training, and one told us, "Module 1 is a great foundation for teachers."
Three schools is just the start. We've identified 27 more public schools across Tanzania that would benefit most from this training, and they're waiting for us to begin.
$17,000 brings STEP to one of them for a full year, putting teachers in front of their classrooms with better tools than the cane.
GIVE TO TEACHER TRAINING$1 = 1 book
Students are in the Kisimani library every day, at break time and lunch time, and some borrow books to read at home. Thanks to our librarian, Upendo, reading has become a daily habit, and our Reading Culture training series brings students, parents, and teachers along too.
Through our partners at Books2Africa, every dollar puts one new book on the shelves.
Bigger gifts stretch further: $500 orders a pallet of 400+ donated books from Books2Africa in Dar es Salaam, and $1,000 covers a delivery from Nuria Books, our regional supplier in Nairobi, which also supports African authors who self-publish.
GIVE LIBRARY BOOKS
The bigger picture
For years, a small group of monthly donors has carried most of our fundraising. That got Kisimani to #1 in the region, but it can't carry STEP to every school that's asking for it. A $250,000 annual budget covers the steady, unglamorous costs that make growth possible, like our Arusha office, documentation and reporting, and the director's supervision of each program. (Yes, we're putting the whole number out there on purpose.)
$250,000
annual budget goal
to expand and professionalize our operations
$85,000
already pledged
about a third of the way there
$165,000
still to raise
and Giving Tuesday is where we start
15 years of progress
What your gifts have already built
The Mkonoo village community advocated for five years for a school on their land, so their children wouldn't have to walk 7 to 11 kilometers to the nearest one. Here's what we've built together since.
2011
Four classrooms
Kisimani School opens in Arusha, teaching in English from day one, with no mandatory fees for parents.
2015
Playground equipment
A real place to play at recess, for every student.
2016
Kitchen and kindergarten
A school kitchen that makes two meals a day possible, and new kindergarten classrooms.
2017
Clean water and sanitation
Running, potable water on campus, plus sanitation improvements for students and staff.
2018
Offices, and #1 in the region
Administrative offices built, and Kisimani ranks #1 academically in the region for the first time.
2019
Pre-school established
The youngest learners get a head start, in English, close to home.
2021
Teacher training funded
Funding secured for a local Tanzanian NGO to run a 3-year teacher training program.
2022 to 2023
Partnering with EPI
Our partnership with Education Progress Initiatives begins, bringing teacher training and life skills programs to Kisimani.
2024
The library is built
Construction and interior carpentry are finished on Kisimani's first library.
2025
The library opens
Shelves stocked, a digital catalog and library cards, and a Reading Culture program that gets parents encouraging kids to read for pleasure.
July 2026 · What's next
STEP launches
With a private foundation grant, 50 teachers at three pilot schools are trained to teach without the cane. 27 more schools are waiting.
More ways to give
The Giving Circle
The majority of our funding comes from a small but mighty group of monthly donors, and the average gift is only $25. Joining the Giving Circle is the biggest impact you can make.
JOIN THE GIVING CIRCLESchool supplies
A set of supplies for one primary student (pencils, sharpener, eraser, colored pencils, basic watercolor paints, and crayons) can be bought locally for about $20. With 1,600 students, the cost adds up quickly. At the end of the year we also match each teacher's monthly salary as a thank-you bonus. To give toward supplies, choose "Flexible - Give Where Most Needed" on the form.
GIVE SUPPLIESThinking bigger?
If you could fund more than one school, make a multi-year gift, or know a foundation that should hear about STEP, email us at [email protected]. We'll set up 20 minutes with you and Samwel. (No pitch deck, we promise.)
EMAIL USThank you for your support!
Your gifts also keep the everyday things running at school, like the wi-fi bill and playground repairs.
Kisimani (kee-see-MAH-nee) is Swahili for 'at the well.' Education is an opportunity that never runs dry. Asante sana!
"Friends of Kisimani School" is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit in the state of MD. Our federal EIN is 81-3443832. All donations are tax-deductible.
Checks can be mailed to:
Friends of Kisimani School
c/o Leonard
4151 Nevis St.
Boulder, CO 80301 USA
Join our Friends of Kisimani Facebook Group to be part of the community that supports special projects throughout the year.
