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Buffalo Tanzania Education Project

The Buffalo Tanzania Education Project (BTEP) is a newly developed partnership between the University at Buffalo and the Mara region of Tanzania supporting the design and development of a school for girls.

History and context

In a rural site near the Mara capital of Musoma, a community has committed to building a comprehensive school for girls that will serve as a model for the region. In this traditional economy, girls are treated as commodities, traded into arranged marriages at an early age with few chances of upward mobility. They are often denied the secondary education awarded to boys as perpetuators of the family lineage. Due to this lack of education, girls as young as 12 or 13 are traded into lives of unspeakable hardship and abuse. With the high rates of HIV-AIDS, poor nutrition and sanitation, a comprehensive school for girls will combat these social injustices through education and distribution of resources.

Consistent with its plan to increase educational opportunities for girls, the Tanzanian government has authorized the development of a comprehensive school for girls in this region under the leadership and management of the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Africa (IHSA).

Partnership framework/model

The project is based on UB’s model for pre-K-16 engagement as formalized in our partnership with the Buffalo Public Schools. The opportunity to support the development of a school for girls in this region presents a unique and important opportunity to collaborate with partners both locally and abroad to address the many challenges facing girls in this region.

Summer 2009 visit

An initial trip to Tanzania is planned for July 2009 with participation from the Graduate School of Education, the School of Architecture and Planning, the School of Social Work, and the School of Public Health.

Outcomes and impact

Our objective is to increase educational opportunities for girls in this region through the design and development of a secondary school for girls and, eventually, a comprehensive educational campus. A key principle of this project is to empower the community within the Musoma area in a manner that will help to strengthen the health and vitality of the region.

This will be accomplished through the mobilization of diverse programmatic resources around areas of need, enhancing opportunities for UB and the broader community to engage in a meaningful way.

Partners

The IHSA has a record of success running schools in this region and has committed to improving the lives of girls in this area through the development of a comprehensive school for girls. The government has also awarded the IHSA 1,000 acres of land for the school and the authorization to seek outside partners to support and participate in the project.

The UB School of Architecture and Planning has expressed interest in collaborating with the IHSA and the Tanzanian government with regard to design and planning. The design will incorporate input from the Graduate School of Education, the schools of Social Work and Public Health, and Engineers Without Borders, and will be based on information and observations gleaned during the visit.

Opportunities to get involved

Since education is at the forefront of this project, it is hoped that many members of the university community will be willing to lend their considerable expertise and experience to this initiative.