OUR PROJECTS
Zanzibar
Learning 4 Life
Zanzibar Learning 4 Life is the first major educational project that we are supporting. It is the reason why Dreams for Kids e. V. was founded and an absolute affair of the heart for all of us. On this page you can find out more about the projects of Zanzibar Learning 4 Life. Is divided into the following aid projects. Across all projects, Zanzibar Learning 4 Life employs 43 staff members.
ZANZIBAR LEARNING 4 LIFE
After School Programs
"You need determination to change your life for the better, and you can learn from every experience and every setback" - Gasica.
ZL4LF is an NGO that helps young people turn the seemingly impossible into the achievable. It was founded in 2006 by Gasica (Shafii Mwita Haji), an inspiring young man from Zanzibar. His story is incredibly touching. In his youth, he had to face a common problem among young people in Zanzibar: since English is the official language in Tanzania, the final exams aner the 6th grade are conducted in English. However, English is not the children's mother tongue, that is Swahili. What's more, many of the young teachers speak poor English themselves. Eventually, the students are struggling to learn English have almost no chance of finishing school. Gasica faced the same problem then as thousands of children face today, and he realized that English was the key to a chance for a better life. With the help of a man, he finally learned English and began to pass on his knowledge by teaching children and young people privately. This was the beginning of ZL4L. The number of students grew quickly and today more than 250 students attend the courses. The classrooms were financed by the local community with international support. Not only language courses in English and German are offered, but also IT courses and courses on ‘Life 5 Skills and Work Readiness’, in which the young people are prepared for life aner school. The current building is used as an education centre during the day. At night, it provides a place to sleep for 13 young people who have found a new home here and want to seize the opportunity for a better life with the help of ZL4L.
OUR PROJECTS
Heroes Community Academy
The Heroes Community Academy opened its doors in January 2020 and offers a safe, child friendly and supportive school environment that is characterized by tolerance and care and is free from discrimination. It’s a community-based nursery and primary school from ‘baby-class’ over year 1 to year 7 that provides high-quality education. The youngest children are 3 years and the oldest 10 years old. When the children are 6 years old, they enter first grade. The school serves the catchment areas of Fuoni-Uwandani, Fuoni-Kichungwani, Jumbi and Kibondeni. The reason we concentrate on primary education is the fact that when the students pass their exams aner grade 7, they can go to better secondary schools and don’t have to pay for their education anymore. If they don’t pass the exams, they have to go to poorer secondary schools and chances for the future are limited. That’s why primary education is of such great significance for the kids and we’re aiming to prepare all our students the best way possible to they can have a bright and independent future at secondary school level. The well-trained and responsible teachers teach the children with respect, love and dedication. Sponsorships are offered for disadvantaged children and their families who cannot afford the school fees, depending on the funds available. Everyone is welcome in our school community, because we live the spirit: Together we are heroes!
The school committee includes the headmaster, the Sheha (community leader) and 7 parents. The Committee is responsible for overseeing the executive management of the school, staff discipline and reviewing budgets.
The philosophy of the school is to offer a high quality of education so that students develop their own skills and realize their potential as citizens. We’re committed to on going training of teachers so that their knowledge and skills respond both to the changes and expectations in society and to the diverse students’ needs. We ensure equal opportunities for education especially for girls and vulnerable groups such as children with special educational needs. We provide a safe and child friendly school environment that’s free from discrimination, abuse and harassment. We believe that excellence in nursery and primary education will improve children’s chances at secondary school level and tertiary education. After school, there is the opportunity to try different activities such as arts, crafts, sports and IT.
The core offering of the school is the government’s proscribed primary school curriculum which includes English, Maths, Geography, Science, ICT, History (all taught in English), Kiswahili, Religion (taught in Kiswahili) and Arabic (taught in Arabic) In addition, the school ensures the children, and especially the girls, have the opportunity to participate in sports including swimming, football and netball.
The Heroes Community Academy started in 2020 with two classes and a total of 39 pupils aged 4 to 6. There are now 300 children attending our school, four of whom come from our GasiCare project and have special educational needs. Unfortunately, 50% of the pupils cannot afford the school fees. Half of them have sponsors who pay the school fees for them. We assume that the proportion of families who are unable to pay the school fees will increase. The reason for this is the incredible number of requests and the limited financial resources available to many families. For this reason, our sponsorships are extremely important. Nevertheless, we always follow our principle: All children are welcome and we will not exclude any child from our school for financial reasons. We are regularly testing students (every 3 months) and are already seeing excellent improvement in all subject areas.
We have a rigorous interview process for selecting teaching staff and ensure that in addition to their teaching qualifications, they are highly motivated individuals who have a good command of spoken English and agree to our discipline policy. In addition, we have a written plan for on going professional development of teachers which includes (for example) topics such as motivation, teaching study skills and teaching exam techniques.
OUR PROJECTS
GasiCare
GasiCare is a daycare center for children with special needs. It is ZL4L's latest project and was opened in 2022. Since then, GasiCare has become a second home for 10 children who are cared for over 10 hours a day. This is very special for them and their families. Onen, children with special needs spend the whole day alone at home with nothing to do. In many cases, fathers leave their families aner the birth of a disabled child, leaving mothers as single parents who have to work hard to feed the family. As a result, the children have no one to look aner them during the day. There are no special needs schools in Zanzibar. At GasiCare, however, they are warmly welcomed with love and care and are appreciated in their uniqueness. Finally, they can do what all kids love to do: play games, have fun, discover new things, and feel appreciated and loved. Thus, they have become a very special and wonderful part of our project family. As there are many requests from families who also want to send their children to Gasi-Care, we’re hoping to be able to expand our facili9es next year. Together, we make this happen!
OUR VISION
Sustainable Education
Sustainable education is of great significance for us and has become one of our guiding principles. We don't want to be dependent on donations all the time. We want to become more independent on others. For us, it's about shaping school education in such a way that the students can then successfully enter the job market, earn their own money and ultimately 'enrich' the entire community. To set an example of independence and give young people an insight into the labor market, we have set up two workshops.
Bike Shop: Here our employees repair and sell bicycles. This enables us to create jobs for the community and earn our own income for our projects.
And Second the Sewing Shop: This is where our employees sew and repair all kinds of clothing, including our school uniforms. Thus, we give women who were previously unemployed the chance to make a living and, at the same time, earn income for our projects.
​8 Students from ZL4L also have the opportunity to work in our workshops and gain their first work experiences. They not only gain practical experience, but also learn a lot about leadership, management and finance. At the same time, the income generated helps us to finance our projects. Sustainability is a way of life!
ZANZIBAR LEARNING 4 LIFE
Development Plans
As already mentioned, we at ZL4L have big plans for the future, which initially revolve around the development of the new land. Our main aim is to create greater capacity so that we can take in more children and young people. We also want to further professionalize our work. Local premises are an important basis for this. As already mentioned, Carolin Kemkes from 'Kemkes Freiraumplanung' has designed construction plans for the property. The following is to be built there.
