Ebenezer Girls’ Secondary School

A new girls’ school located near Arusha, in Tanzania, Ebenezer formally opened its doors in 2007 with its first class of Form 1 (8th-grade equivalent) students, following a successful Pre-Form 1 session in late 2006. The school now serves approximately 250 young girls from the surrounding community, in Forms 1 through 4, many of whom would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend secondary school without scholarship funding.

Ebenezer has grown tremendously since its inception, thanks to the generosity of so many of our friends and supporters, and particularly due to the efforts of Colorado’s Rockland Community Church. In each of the last four years, AfricAid has issued a $10,000 challenge matching grant to Rockland for the purpose of raising funds for classroom construction. Rockland’s generous members have risen to each of those challenges, and the church has sent groups to Tanzania each spring since then to help with construction efforts. This partnership between AfricAid and Rockland has helped Ebenezer grow in ways that would not otherwise be possible, and continues with the construction of a new Form 5 classroom scheduled for completion in the summer of 2010.

In an outgrowth of these relationships, Rockland was able to help Lucy Wilfred, Ebenezer’s dynamic Headmistress, and her husband travel to Colorado in November of 2007 for their first visit to the United States. During the course of their three-week visit, they had the opportunity to visit with friends, schools, organizations and supporters throughout the Denver community, including being the honored guest at the AfricAid Kids Team’s (AKT) annual fundraising event, and meeting with Colorado Academy’s AfricAid Club. For a brief video featuring Lucy’s comments about the Ebenezer Girls’ School, please click here.

AfricAid has also provided funding for the construction and refurbishment of classrooms there, and, as part of its recent extension into helping to provide vocational training opportunities, has provided funds for the completion of a much-needed computer lab and a science lab.

Click here to help sponsor a girl at the Ebenezer School, or help provide funding for additional classrooms by clicking here.