This year we achieved some huge milestones in the life of The Bandari Project. 2024 saw a complete and full school for the first time in our history – with classes from Kindergarten right through to Standard 7. Then, in September we had our inaugural graduating class. These students were the very first to enter the Bandari gates back in 2016; we have watched them grow into wonderful young people, and sadly now it is time to say goodbye as they head off to secondary school next year. We are so very proud of the beautiful people they have become, and so very thankful to everyone who helped us turn this dream into a reality.

Before saying goodbye to our Standard 7 students, let’s take a moment to acknowledge just how far both they, and the school have come.

When they started they were tiny and super cute and we had only one classroom. Now they are 12 and 13 years old and we have seven classrooms, a dining hall, cows and so much more.

What else has been happening?

So much has happened in 2024 that it is impossible to put it all in this short update, but let’s look at a few highlights:

• Volunteer visits – We have had some wonderful volunteers join us this year from all around the world. We have had our usual group from Australia and have also had people from Finland, Germany and students from the International School of Toulouse, France come and work on the project.

• We hired a social worker. Our students come from challenging circumstances and often have some complex issues to work through. Having Susan join the team was a fantastic addition and helps us prioritise our students’ mental health.

• We have held some fantastic fundraising events over the course of the year. The two highlights were the Magical Summer Festival, and the always wonderful Women In Song. Thank you to everyone who supported our events this year.

• Our Standard 4 and 7 students completed the national examinations and achieved some really good results.

Standard 7 Students Smash the National Exam results

Bandari’s Standard Seven students recently sat for their compulsory national exams.  We are really excited about their performance!

Fifteen students sat for the exams, and fourteen of them qualified for admission into the Tanzanian government’s secondary education system.  To do this, they had to achieve an average score of “C’ or better across a range of six subjects.  The one student who did not qualify is still eligible to apply to study at private secondary schools .

One of our students scored an average of “A” and may be eligible for selection to a talented school program.

The exam results were also analysed for each subject.  The class was successful in all subjects on average and performed even better in both Kiswahili and English. 

These results are especially noteworthy when we remember that our students come from the most disadvantaged families.  Most of their parents have had no schooling themselves, and therefore are poorly placed to help them with their studies from an academic perspective.

The education journey will continue for our graduating Standard Seven students.  We have worked with two other NGO’s to gain support for them to commence secondary school in 2025.

This outcome shows that together, as sponsors and supporters of the Bandari Project, we are building a better future for our students.  This is a real game changer! 

Thank you for the part that you continue to play in enabling such a dramatic difference.

A word from our Project Manager

This year has been an incredibly busy one, but also very rewarding. It was great to see the school at full capacity after all these years. My highlight of the year was to see our first lot of students graduating, and that they achieved good exam results so they can go on to Form one in Secondary school.