History of the Foundation

The Kibaoni Primary School Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial and material support to the students and staff of Kibaoni Primary School, located near Karatu, in the Arusha Region of Tanzania. The Foundation was organized in 2009 by James M. Furner, Darrell R. Lund and David E. Clapp following a Smithsonian Journeys tour of Tanzania in early 2008. 

During the February 2008 visit to the school, it was clear that in spite of the outstanding efforts of the faculty and staff, more help was needed.

With 788 students split among just six classrooms, the school was overcrowded and the students had to attend classes in shifts. Basic supplies like desks, chairs, books, and writing instruments were in short supply. The school had no electricity and no running water. There was only one small latrine.

In 2008, while awaiting our tax-exempt status, we worked with H.E.A.L. (Health Empowerment for African Lives), a registered non-profit, to collect funds that could be used to help the children of Kibaoni.

Kibaoni Primary School Foundation

By combining funds left by members of the tour group with additional private donations, Madam Mzava, the school's headmistress, was finally able to get running water to the school grounds. Who would have thought that a simple water spigot would mark the first of our many successful projects?

Donations to the foundation are used to build and improve existing educational facilities at Kibaoni Primary School, which first opened in 1990 with two temporary mud and grass thatched buildings that were used as classrooms.

Again, while working with H.E.A.L. in 2008, donors sponsored the education of four Kibaoni graduates: three at the Secondary Level and one at the Advanced Level.

Kibaoni Primary School Foundation

Kibaoni Primary School Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in Illinois. All donations are completely tax deductible and are forwarded to the Kibaoni Primary School in Karatu, Arusha Region, Tanzania.