UWindsor’s Teach Tanzania team departs to commence 18th year of impact
Local students and Lancers engaging in a group activity
After nearly two decades of impact, the University of Windsor’s Teach Tanzania program continues to grow.
Students from the University of Windsor are taking their education beyond the classroom this spring through the Teach Tanzania program. The program focuses on providing educational funding to build classrooms, and host girls' leadership and empowerment programs. Moreover, Teach Tanzania emphasizes sustainability by supporting communities in becoming self-sufficient through the provision of resources needed to establish and maintain gardens and livestock.
The program is student-led and directed by professor and vice-president of People, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. Clinton Beckford. The program is part of a course called Vulnerability, Marginalization, and Education which explores how social and economic factors impact learning. As part of the course, students can participate in an international service-learning experience such as the Teach Tanzania program. The group departed to Tanzania on Sunday, April 26th and will soon begin their experience.
In preparation for the trip, students have spent months organizing fundraisers and collecting donations. Fundraising events have included a pasta dinner, a golf tournament and even a spin class, all aimed at helping raise money and awareness for the program’s initiative. Students have also gathered a range of donated items to bring with them, including school supplies, sanitary pads, hygiene products, and monetary contributions. These donations will be distributed to schools and communities they work with during their time in Tanzania. All donations go towards helping the local communities in Tanzania.
Running for nearly two decades, the Teach Tanzania program brings new perspectives on teacher training by providing valuable life experience for future educators. It prepares them for diverse classroom environments while encouraging a deeper understanding of global issues such as poverty and inequality. Students will work directly in classrooms by assisting and learning from local teachers as well as organizing educational activities. The program has supported a wide variety of initiatives, including providing school supplies, helping improve classroom spaces as well as taking part in leadership and empowerment initiatives, particularly those focused on supporting young girls through the provision of education and mentorship.
A team from a previous Teach Tanzania trip
The program is beneficial for both, teacher candidates, and Tanzanian students and teachers.
Audrey Schumacher, a 2019 Bachelor of Education graduate from the University of Windsor reflected on her experience in Tanzania in a testimony shared on the university’s website. “Not a day has gone by without thinking about my time in Tanzania and the many things I learned there,” She commented.
Schumacher described her involvement in the program’s girls’ leadership initiative. “They taught us far more than we could have ever taught them, and I will carry these girls with me in my heart the rest of my life” she said, highlighting the program’s impact as well as its synergistic nature.
As the latest group begins their journey in Tanzania, the program continues its legacy of connecting classrooms across continents by building and fostering nearly 18 years of educational exchange and partnership.
Lancers working alongside teachers in a classroom