When education is a fight for space, community becomes the answer
Every morning in Katoro, northwestern Tanzania, the sound of hurried footsteps fills the dusty paths as children rush to school. It’s not just the fear of being late that pushes them to run — it’s the daily race for a place to sit. In most classrooms, there are too few desks for the number of eager learners. Those who arrive last spend the entire day sitting on the floor.

“If you don’t get space on a desk, you will spend the whole day seated on the floor,” says Lita, a 14-year-old student and participant at one of the child and youth development centers in Katoro.

In her crowded classroom, rows of old wooden desks line the front, while the rest of the students squeeze in wherever they can. “When I don’t get a desk, I try to find space close to the wall so I can lean against it,” she explains. “I place my school bag on my lap and use it as a makeshift desk to support my book when I write. Concentrating is difficult because you can’t see parts of the board or hear the teacher sometimes.”

The dust stirred up by hundreds of footsteps thudding during break time fills the room, making it harder to learn. Yet every day, Lita perseveres. Her mother’s voice echoes in her mind: ‘education changes life’. It’s what motivates her to wake up early and run to class before the first bell.

Elizabeth, Lita’s mother, shares that dream. “Education changes life, and I want my children’s lives to be better, not just for them and our family but the community too,” she says. “But it is difficult for them to love school when they’re learning like that (on the floor).”

For years, Compassion centers in Katoro supported children by meeting individual needs — paying school fees, buying uniforms, or providing extra lessons. But even with such support, the problem persisted. “By helping parents with things like uniforms, fees or extra lessons, the impact was only felt by the child in the family under our care,” explains Rose, a staff member at one of the centers. “Other children in the family and community remained vulnerable. The issues causing their struggle within the community erode the impact we want. But through Program Cycle Adoption (PCA) (the new program planning and implementation initiative), we are now changing how we address needs.”

The new approach takes a broader look at challenges and engages the entire community in finding sustainable solutions. A recent assessment revealed that Katoro’s 18 schools, serving more than 2,000 students each, had an average of just 22 desks per class. In such conditions, children could not learn with dignity or focus.

To address this, the Compassion centers in Katoro partnered with parents, churches, and local government to launch a community-led fundraising campaign. “We liaised with our district government and started a campaign where every community member can contribute,” says Rose. “We are involving parents and organizations working in our community to ensure every child sits on a desk.”

Elizabeth proudly joined the effort. “It is not just for my children,” she says. “It is for all of them. If we all do something small, we can make school better for all children.”

The campaign is ongoing, and classrooms are slowly being transformed. New desks arrive each week, bringing smiles and renewed enthusiasm to students like Lita. “I am enjoying school now that I don’t have to worry about where I will sit,” she says.

Today, Lita still wakes up early — not to race for a desk, but to study for her national exams. And as she takes her seat each morning, she dreams of a future where every child in Katoro, including her younger brother Edson, will learn in comfort and with dignity.