In 1997, Carrie Oelberger, a NetAid Network member, first arrived in the impoverished Kiteto District in Tanzania to teach secondary school students. Initially, she thought her Tanzanian adventure would last only six months, after which she would resume her studies and graduate with her Bachelors in Education from Haverford College in Pennsylvania.
Six years later, Carrie is still living in Tanzania, and very much an active member of her adopted community. Her long-lasting attachment to the country is embodied in the Jifunze (Swahili for “teaching one’s self”) Project, a non-profit organization that she co-founded with her roommate, Christina Gabriel, a young Masai teacher. (The Masai are an indigenous people who live primarily in Kenya and Tanzania.)
Jifunze aims to provide members of the Kiteto District, a rural area in northern Tanzania, with quality educational opportunities. In Tanzania, about 50 percent of school-age children complete a primary school education, and less than 10 percent progress to secondary school. The country has one of the lowest secondary school enrollments in the world. These national averages drop drastically in the rural Kiteto District, where the adult literacy rate is about 30 percent.
Carrie and Christina started the Jifunze Project to provide a much-needed service for their eager students. “A number of the girl students would go home after school to do chores and then come to our living room to do their homework at night,” she says. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, the girls would read and study together by the dim light of a kerosene lamp. “At first, it was just a few, but the numbers soon grew. They were coming together and forming their own study group.”
Recognizing a need for a communal space to foster learning, the two teachers decided to build the community's first education resource center, and Jifunze was born. Christina bought a small piece of land, and Carrie raised funds for a one-room building for the girls to study in. The enterprising women also met with local interest groups: primary school students, secondary school students and adults. As a result of these meetings, citizens and government officials determined that an educational resource center would be an invaluable resource for all members of the community—boys and girls.
Today, Jifunze is a multi-purpose complex consisting of numerous facilities, which combine to serve the educational needs of the Kiteto community. Programs emphasize access to information technology and learning opportunities for different age groups, especially students, children and youth.
“We have a 14-room center with an early learning center, programming for drop outs, literacy classes, a public library and an educational garden,” says Carrie. “Our programs provide individuals of varying ages and abilities with a space in which they can teach themselves with the assistance of books, computers, games, multi-media technology and access to certified teachers.”
To supplement their small staff, Carrie turned to NetAid’s Online Volunteer Program to look for skilled volunteers. “Since beginning our partnership with NetAid we've worked with a number of amazing volunteers. Heather Bolesh of Seattle, WA and Deb Clague of Winnipeg, Canada have given new life to our web site and redesigned our icons,” says Hana Brown, Jifunze’s US Country Director.
Carrie’s dream of making Jifunze self-sustainable has finally been realized. In fact, the program now serves as a model for rural education initiatives in Tanzania. “I wanted this to be community-focused program. I’m excited that the project is at a place where it doesn’t need me to thrive.”
Carrie is currently transitioning out of her position as Jifunze’s executive director. “I never imagined [the program] would be this big,” she says.
Today, her plans for the future are uncertain. Carrie plans to travel around Africa and see as much of the continent that has been her home for the past six years. “And then, who knows what will happen next.”
