The MaaSae Girls Lutheran Secondary School,

Monduli, Arusha, Tanzania

 

You can make a difference! The education of a Massai girl is an amazing transformation. The small, shy, pastoralist girl becomes the young, confident educated woman. She is ready to face the world and contribute to her family and community. Some graduates return home, some enter colleges, universities or vocational schools and others seek employment. All have been transformed by their education at the MaaSae Girls Lutheran Secondary School (MGLSS).

The name MaaSae Girls Lutheran Secondary School comes partially from an acronym. Maa is the language of the Maasai tribe...S is for Speakers; A for Advanced and E for Education...MaaSae

The School is located in Monduli, Tanzania, a village 45 minutes outside of Arusha. Since the school was founded in 1995, more than 500 girls have graduated and over 150 of these girls have gone on to institutions of higher learning. Today, graduates include teachers, nurses, social workers, doctors and other professionals.

MGLSS was the vision of a former prime minister and bishop, both Maasai, and the founder of Operation Bootstrap Africa because there were very few secondary education opportunities for Maasai girls. Now, each fall a class of 60 or more girls enrolls in the school. It has become a critical force for girls who otherwise have no access to education beyond primary school. In fact, fewer than 10 percent of Tanzanian girls are able to attend secondary school.

The residential high school, complete with dormitories, classrooms, computer lab, library, dining hall, and teachers' houses, is free for the girls who are selected through a process of interviews and recommendations from their primary school teachers. The students are from pastoralist tribes, including the Maasai, Barbaig and Hadzabe.

Nelson Mandela said,

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Education Matters

In a Tanzanian girl's life, education makes all the difference. Schooling offers the girls a chance to make a brighter future for themselves and their families.

  • A secondary education nearly triples a woman's income.
  • She will reinvest 90 percent of her income into her family.
  • A girl with a secondary education will marry later and have 2.2 fewer children.
  • She is seven times less likely to contact HIV/AIDS.
  • Her children have a 40 percent better chance of living to age 5.

    		•

    Teacher, Ciwila Shirima's, Form I class.

    You Can Make a Difference

    A gift to MGLSS provides the physical, emotional and educational support an African girls needs to be healthy, safe and successfull in school. The community is a unique environment for the education of pastoralist girls. MGLSS has received accreditation from the Ministry of Education for Forms One through Six, which will follow primary grades Standards One through Seven.

    Scholarship money raised by Operation Bootstrap Africa is the major source of funding for the School. Without this assistance, few MGLSS students would be able to attend secondary school. All gifts are tax deductible and go to the Operation Bootstrap Africa MaaSae Girls Lutheran Secondary School Fund.

    There are two levels of funding:

    $900 per year/$75 a month This level provides a girls with a full year's room, board, school fees, books, supplies and uniform.

    $450 per year/$37.50 a month This level provides support for a girl for half a year. Consider pairing with a friend to sponsor an entire year.

    How to Contribute

    Donations may be made by check, online credit card giving, or recurring monthly payments at http://www.operationbootstrapafrica.org/give.php, or you can send your contribution to:

    Operation Bootstrap Africa

    122 West Franklin Avenue

    Suite 306

    Minneapolis, MN 55404



    Download the pdf of the MaaSAE Girls Lutheran Secondary School for more infomation about the school.

    Life in the dormitory

    The chemistry classroom.





    Students study in the campus library.



    School includes chores.



    Life at home.

    The 2010 Graduation Class