The Story of Chikola
Chikola is a village near Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania. Fifteen years ago, the Ley family began financially supporting Lameck Elias Komba, primarily to cover school fees for him and members of his family. After completing his education, he received a loan that enabled him to purchase land and plant grapevines, allowing him to earn a living. Dodoma is the only wine-growing region in Tanzania.
Lameck’s Dream
But Lameck also thought of others and dreamed of opening a small village school for the children of Chikola. These children are forced to walk several kilometers to the nearest village, and to make matters worse, they must cross a dangerous main road. Understandably, many parents prefer to keep their children at home.
So far so good…
In the first phase, the plan was to build two classrooms, a kitchen, a small office, and simple toilets. Just three months after construction began in spring 2021, the school was able to open. In a second phase, an additional building was planned, with more classrooms and a library. The Ley family has come to know Lameck as a reliable partner who is capable of implementing these projects. They value his initiative in helping underprivileged families and, above all, share a belief in education as the first step toward a better future for these children.
Our Team
Lameck Elias Komba
School Director
Marie-Rose Ley
Swiss Partner
Daniel Anthony Haule
Administrator
Happiness
Teacher
Grace
Teacher
Tekla
Teacher
Joanitha
Teacher
Daudi
Watchman
Dina
Cook
Sofia
Cook
Jofrey
Bricklayer
Thomas
Driver
Our Mission
We focus on education as a means of alleviating poverty. The Marie Nursery School offers children a free first step in education — children who, due to poverty and social pressure, would otherwise likely have no chance of completing school. This first step is enormously important, as the children speak the local language, Kigogo, at home and must now learn the official language, Kiswahili, as quickly as possible. For the teachers, this is a real challenge, especially as English is also introduced into the classroom at an early stage.