Our monthly newsletter highlights the progress your donations are making in the community of Nshupu, Tanzania. It is a brief and informative email, but rest assured that improvements are continuously happening in the village.
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We’re thrilled to share incredible news with you from Precious English Medium Primary School! The National Examinations Council of Tanzania announced the grade seven examination results. Our school has not only achieved the highest grades in the entire district but also ranks 11th in a region with over 1,000 schools—a testament to the dedication of our students and teachers.
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We are thrilled to announce a significant partnership between Precious Project, Inc. and ZoomInfo! Through their generous donation of nearly 30 laptops, ZoomInfo is making a lasting impact on the students at Precious Project in Tanzania. These laptops will play a critical role in enhancing the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education at our Precious Leaders Secondary School.
This year, 60 seventh-grade students at Precious English Medium School (PEMS) sat for their Tanzanian National Examinations on September 11th and 12th. Just days later, on September 14th, they celebrated their graduation with over 200 attendees, including educators, parents, and relatives. The ceremony's guest of honor was Mr. Matthew Mndeme, a lecturer from the University of Dar es Salaam.
Schools are back in session as of July 2024, and our students have jumped right into their learning with enthusiasm and energy!It’s been wonderful to see our students reuniting with friends, reconnecting with teachers, and diving back into their studies with such joy. The halls are buzzing with laughter, lively conversations, and the eager curiosity of young minds ready to learn.
Representatives from Bakker Brothers kickstarted a supportive partnership by generously providing surplus produce and valuable agricultural training to our schools. Efforts are underway to address water insufficiency at Precious Leaders Secondary School, while complying with regulations and Precious Project has built a new residence for older children at Precious Children's Home, planning future facility enhancements.
We are proud to announce the appointment of Jane Aibel, Ed.M. and David Thiel, as newest board members. "We are thrilled to welcome Jane and David to our board," said Elliot Kronstein, Board Members and President of US Operations. "Their extensive experience in education, coupled with her passion for supporting youth development, will be invaluable as we continue our mission to empower the youth of Tanzania."
We are thrilled to share some exciting updates from our project partners in Tanzania: Precious Orphans Childrens Home, Precious English Medium Primary School and Precious Leaders Secondary School. Your continued support and generosity have played a significant role in making these achievements possible, and we couldn't be more grateful for your commitment to our mission.
We are thrilled to share some incredible news with you all! Precious Project, Inc. has recently been honored with two prestigious awards that underscore our commitment to transparency, accountability, and excellence in serving our mission; to nurture, educate and empower impoverished youth in Tanzania to be productive members and the future leaders of their country.
Tanzania has experienced extreme weather patterns, swinging from a severe drought that lasted nearly three years to the current chaos of constant, torrential rains. This sudden shift has brought about a cascade of challenges, impacting the lives in our vulnerable community in profound ways. In the face of this crisis, we are reaching out to you on this #GivingTuesday with a heartfelt plea for support.
We are thrilled to share the exciting news about the linguistic achievements of our Grade 3 students at Precious English Medium Primary School. In addition to their native language, Kiswahili, and their fluency in English, these young minds have taken on the challenge of mastering conversational French. We believe in providing our students with a well-rounded education that goes beyond traditional boundaries.
It is with heavy hearts that we share the sad news of the passing of Rosamund Stone Zander, a remarkable woman whose life was a tapestry woven with threads of philanthropy, artistry, literature, and a deep commitment to fostering leadership and environmental stewardship. Roz departed this world on September 5, 2023, in an accident while swimming with her beloved husband, Hansjörg Wyss, at their Vinalhaven, Maine home.
We are delighted to share that the 16th of September, marked a momentous occasion for our Grade Seven class at Precious English Medium Primary School (PEMS). This event was a true testament to the hard work, dedication, and potential of our students. A total of 47 bright young minds walked across the graduation stage, beaming with pride and accomplishment.
We are proud to announce that Precious Project received the prestigious "Uhuru Torch Award" in Tanzania for our outstanding educational accomplishments at PLSS and Precious English Medium Primary School. The selection of Precious Project for this esteemed award highlights the remarkable achievements we have attained in providing quality education to underprivileged children and orphans in our community.
At Precious Project, Inc., we are committed to the health and well-being of our female students. That is why we are proud to share our ongoing initiative to ensure that our girls receive the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine by the age of 12. By vaccinating our students, we aim to protect them from these potential risks and promote their long-term health.
On May 29, 2023, our school had the honor of hosting a visit from Hon. John Mongela, the Commission of the Arusha region of Tanzania. This visit served as a recognition and special delegation from the Tanzanian government of the outstanding work carried out by Precious Project administration, teachers and staff members, as our school in transforming the lives of impoverished children.
In the seven years that I have spent working with staff at Precious, I have been astonished at the growth that many teachers have made in their teaching practice. This observation has been affirmed in the government’s national tests given to 4th and 7th graders each spring. In the last two school years the Precious students in both these grades scored # 1 in their district, which encompasses +100 schools in the area.
We are proud to report that Precious English Medium School (PEMS) is ranked #1 in the District out of 171 schools. It is reported that 37 of the 39 students that sat for the exam scored all 'A's' in each subject area. "We are very proud of our students and teachers, who have worked incredibly hard and managed to stay on top for two consecutive years," said co-founder Gil Williams.
Although the government of Tanzania has begun pushing for the expansion of educational opportunities over the last several years, there is still a deeper need for quality education while removing the barriers to education. Precious TZ Co-founders, William and Sarah Modest have the vision to dismantle the barriers that prevent Tanzanian students from accessing quality education.
We are delighted to share the Precious Project, Inc, Annual Report for 2021. This year has been a challenging one for us, but we have come out stronger than ever before thanks to your continued generosity. We could not do this without you, our donors—thank you for believing in our mission! Your support makes it possible for us to continue providing children with the care and education that can change their world.
Precious Project envisions a world where everyone has access to clean, safe, and reliable energy. The sun delivers huge and powerful energy that can reduce the need for any other electrical power supply. With the help from some generous donors, we have taken the steps to ensure Precious TZ is moving in the right direction towards self-sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint.
Mother's Day is a chance to celebrate, pamper and shower moms with love. “Mama” is the affectionate name given to the women who care for the children at the Home. At the Precious Children’s Home, an organized family setting is critical to fostering continuous learning. This year, Precious Project is celebrating our Mama's at the Precious Children's Home, Mama Ester, and Mama Eva.
The achievements of women globally are celebrated each year on March 8th, International Women’s Day. Today we proudly honor and share the accomplishments of some of our inspirational women in the Precious community. They are successful and compassionate leaders, advocates for gender equality and breaking biases, helping women and girls reach their full potential, and protecting them from social injustice.
Our agricultural projects have contributed significantly in helping Precious move toward self-sustainability. Precious grows most of its own food to feed our children and staff at the primary and secondary schools, as well as the Home. Our farms have also contributed in providing food for our students’ families who were hit economically by the pandemic.
Earlier this month, Co-Founders William and Sara Modest and Headmaster Telesphory Kafuba were joined by students, faculty, and staff for the official grand opening and dedication of the new Precious Leaders High School. One important goal for the school is to serve children from the poorest families as access to quality education is an important contributor to poverty reduction.
What is #GivingTuesday?
#GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. #GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
We are pleased to announce and celebrate the hard work and dedication of our students and teachers! On September 8th, 2021 our 7th-grade students sat for their final National Examination.
37 students were tested and earned the following rankings:
This bus will serve both facilities, the Precious English Medium Primary School and Precious Leaders High School. This was a necessary addition, as the public transportation system is unsafe, unreliable, and expensive. A sincere thank you to the generous donor who responded to this need and made this all possible. Without the kindness and generosity of our donors, we would not be where we are today.
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All students, teachers, administration, and staff came together for a grand celebration for our 11th anniversary of Precious English Medium Primary School. Co-Founders William and Sarah Modest, as well as the primary school head teacher gave short speeches to commend the students on this occasion. It is hard to believe that it has been 11 years since the dream became a reality.
On behalf of everyone here at Precious Project, both US and Tanzanian based; we are excited to share this exclusive interview with Jennifer Wysocki, our Development Director and our Co-Founder, William Modest. William will update our Precious partners and donor community on the progress of Precious Leaders Secondary School as well as other projects.
It is hard to believe that we have reached the halfway point for the calendar year. We are proud to share our mid-year review as it is an outstanding opportunity to not only look back on achievements for the first six months of 2021, but to also look ahead and set positive goals for the remainder of the year. Please join us in celebrating our milestones
We are proud to report that our secondary school construction work is moving on smoothly, as planned. Tiles have been installed in all 16 classrooms including the computer lab, libraries, as well as all 72 dormitory rooms for both boys and girls including the bathroom facilities, and the Patron and Matron rooms. The painting contractors will begin painting the walls the final color in the coming weeks.
Our agricultural projects have contributed significantly in helping Precious move toward self-sustainability. Not only does Precious grow much of its own food for the school and home, but excess food production also generates much needed funds. Approximately 15% of Precious operating expenses for the school and home are currently paid through the sale of the extra produce from our farms.
The new school, when it reaches full capacity, will offer six years of secondary education to up to 480 students. One important goal for the school is to serve children from the poorest families, with 50% of the student body supported under full sponsorship, and another 25% receiving partial support. Another key objective is to recruit and retain girls, who are severely underrepresented in secondary schools in Tanzania.
Many of you ask how our children at Precious are faring through the pandemic. So far we have had no reports of COVID-19 cases among the children, the staff or their families. But this is anecdotal as there is no readily-available or reliable testing and vaccinations are not permitted in Tanzania at present. However, a recent wave of deaths began to surge and could not be hidden.
On January 11th, Precious English Medium School started its sixth year welcoming 347 new and past students. Among this year's school enrollees, 128 children are receiving a sponsorship; a growth of 113% since the school's founding in 2016. The school also opened its dormitories to students. Our boarders include 4th and 7th graders and our poorest students, who benefit from nutritious meals and supportive environment.
Precious was founded over a decade ago by William and Sarah Modest to care for and educate nine vulnerable children in the village of Nshupu. Ten years later Precious is providing a safe and loving home for twenty more kids, educating hundreds of children each year, empowering women with skills to support their families, and practicing efficient farming to improve self-sufficiency.
According to the UN, an estimated 70% of Tanzanian children between the ages of 14-17 are not receiving a secondary education. On Nov 1st, Precious celebrated Tumaini’s graduation from secondary school – believed the first in her family - along with Home resident Nickson. Tumaini aspires to be a cardiac surgeon and Nickson a tour guide. We are so proud of both children's accomplishments from their humble beginnings.
On October 10, the Precious English Medium School celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2020. The graduating student body represents the beautiful ethnic and cultural diversity of Tanzanians. They are members of the Meru, Maasai, Chagga, Nyakyusa, Kamba, and Ngoni tribes. While most students are from Nshupu and surrounding villages, some originate from remote regions, including Manyara, Ngorongoro, and Dar es Salaam.
Precious Project's cofounder, Dr. Susanne Rheault, has authored a book entitled My Wild and Precious Life: A Memoir of Africa. Among the fascinating stories of Africa that Susie tells is how she and her husband (Gil Williams) felt compelled to help the children in Nshupu, Tanzania, which led to their founding of Precious Project. All proceeds from My Wild and Precious Life book sales will be donated to Precious Project.
It is with saddened hearts that we inform you of the passing of our dear Board Member, W. Ed Wood. Ed was deeply committed to bettering the lives of people who live in poverty and he provided Precious Project an exceptional perspective. He led the Clinton Foundation Health Access Initiative in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, where he provided a care and treatment plan to assist 1.2 million Tanzanians living with HIV+.
Two brothers and a sister joined the Precious Orphans Children’s Home this past month. Their dire situation was brought to director William Modest’s attention by a farmer who had caught the siblings stealing sugarcane from his fields. The children reported that their mother was not feeding them and that she had not been around for days. Their father was deceased and left his deeply troubled wife with five children.
On July 26, 2020, the tenth anniversary of the Precious Home, co-founders William and Sarah Modest took the residential children on a field trip to Tengeru Special Needs Community Center. The Precious children donated food and met the special needs children supported at Tengeru. William shared it was a very happy day for the Precious children to experience the joy of giving to others in need.
The residential children at Precious Children’s Home honored the voices and actions of Africa’s children who fought for their educational rights in the 1970s. They also demonstrated solidarity with their brothers and sisters protesting racism across the Atlantic and around the world. An important aspect of the education at the Precious School is valuing one another despite differences, such as tribal origins and color.
Precious is in a unique position among most schools in Tanzania in using educational technology, and it’s these resources that are allowing our Precious Home children to participate in remote learning. Since April our ICT/STEAM program leads, have been working with the Precious School's faculty and the Precious Home’s kids. They include the delivery of live online classes over Zoom.
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, the Tanzanian president has closed all schools indefinitely and our students are now at home with their families. Our concern is that these children, who have placed the Precious Primary School as #1 in our district, will lose the academic gains they have earned through their hard work. Additionally, a significant number of students depend on the school for their daily meals.
Art curator, photographer, and educator, Melissa Knowles, spent three weeks in January at Precious English Medium Primary School leading art classes for the lower grades and photographing the students. Melissa encouraged all expression of art, inspiring confidence in each child’s creativity. Art is good for helping children learn problem-solving skills and to hone their creativity.
Supporting early childhood education is at the roots of Precious Project's work. The first action Precious Project took after supporting the home with beds, toys, clothes, and food was to open a kindergarten. Precious Project's directors understood that early childhood education lays the foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing and was a mandatory first step.
Click here to read some of the highlights, which could not have happened without your support. Among those: The fact that Precious English Medium Primary School opened the new school year to serve 305 village students, up from 225 in 2018 while continuing to demonstrate excellence on the National Exams, again positioning the school among the top in the district.
Thank you!
We are building an ICT and STEAM lab at the primary school. This lab is needed to safely store all the school's computers, iPads, science equipment, etc. and will serve as an after-school center of learning. The lab is situated next to the existing solar panels, which will minimize the need for long-run wires. We also plan to install solar panels on the new building’s roof to provide additional electricity as needed.
Precious ranked 157 of over 7100 schools in the nation based on this year's results on the exam. The Class 7 students, seven boys and four girls, had their graduation ceremony on October 28th and a Tanzanian TV station covered the event, highlighting how the school is advancing primary education in the region, including the use of technology to accelerate learning and build critical thinking skills
Ekaely Elibariki makes her daily trek to a local farm where she purchases bananas and avocados and then resells them. Some buyers are at the Precious campus, others are local villagers or at the Leganza bus station. The small profit she pockets helps provide for herself and children. Ekaely is part of a savings and loan women's group that meets weekly at the Precious Community Center.
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Precious English Medium Primary School boasts the two top-scoring seventh-grade students on the mock national exams in the district. The district is made up of 164 schools and 9,500 students. Nelson Greyson, who attends Precious on a scholarship from The Foundation For Tomorrow placed first. He and 12 other students joined Precious School this past January when their previous school was closed by the government.
This year, Precious Orphans Children’s Home, the Tanzanian NGO that Precious Project supports, purchased farmland on which they intend to build the Precious Secondary School in the future. This past month, they successfully connected to the town’s water system which will serve as a backup water source to their own well water. Now the vegetables planted last month can be properly irrigated.
With the help of the Mali Hai Club, 300 trees were purchased and planted on newly purchased land. The types of trees include cypress, acacia, avocado, orange, guava and mango trees. The process of planting these trees was built into the environmental science curriculum to teach the students about conservation. About 110 students from grades 4 through 7 came out to assist with the tree planting.
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You may have noticed from a recent posting on our Facebook that some students at Precious English Medium Primary School are wearing a different school uniform. The material of the new uniforms is more comfortable for the hot climate. Girls have more freedom with the addition of pants. That's not the only change at Precious Project.We also have a new look for our website in order to give you a better user experience.
Precious began its music program last year with a significant gift from a major donor to purchase sound equipment and instruments. Under the program, students at Precious English Medium School are offered lessons to learn to play the keyboard, drums, and guitar, as well as sing with the school choir. The program is so popular that during school breaks, you can hear the unmistakenable sounds of the music instruments.
Connie Berry, a writer for Martha's Vineyard Times, interviews Elliot Kronstein, Precious Project's Board of Directors President, and David Finkelstein, an optometrist and Precious volunteer. Both recently returned from Nshupu, Tanzania and share Precious's history and accomplishments in the village, including current developments at Precious English Medium School.
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Visiting Optometrist, Dr. David Finkelstein, spent two days at the Precious English Medium Primary School examining our students' eyes. Preliminary screening determined which students might have some vision difficulties and they were prioritized for appointments. Dr. Finkelstein brought as much equipment as he safely could pack. The Lion's Club, Seekonk branch, donated many glasses to Precious Project.
Early education is one of the most powerful means of securing future academic success. Because of this, when the Precious Children's Home moved to its existing location, the original small empty cement house became a nursery school for the children of Nshupu. In 2016, the Precious English Medium Primary School was built and the nursery school class was moved into the school.
Precious Orphans and Children’s Home recently invested in expanding the farm. The first thing our co-founder and director, William Modest, did was expand the chicken coop to accommodate 200 more chickens. William estimates that the new total of 300 chickens could produce up to 7-8 trays of eggs/day. The eggs will be sold to local hotels and lodges to build revenue.
On October 20th, over 400 parents, family members, friends, and students turned out to celebrate the nine students who comprised the first graduating class of the Precious English Medium Primary School. The graduating class maintained high grades making the Precious English Medium Primary School the number one school in the district; number ten in the region and ranking 106 out of 6,726 primary schools in Tanzania.
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Volunteers, Ina Ghaznavi and Allan Andersen, have a passion for enthusing students about STEAM . Since 2015, they've been working to provide students the tools and skills to advance their learning and succeed in the new digital economy and beyond. In August, they brought additional iPads and science equipment including wifi-enabled digital microscopes for the students to discover their micro-world.
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The August parents meeting was extremely well-attended. Headmistress Madame Debora Kileo gave a report on the activities since January and talked about teacher training, new laptops, i-pads, textbooks, and musical instruments. She explained the dormitories including why housing the fourth and seventh graders was important to their scholastic success.
Solar panels are now providing electricity to all buildings on the Precious campus including the Home, School, Community Center/Dining Hall, and Dormitories! The system is rated to produce 5120 watts of DC power, which charges the DC battery bank. An inverter converts the DC power to AC power which is connected to the wiring of the buildings on campus.
Our fourth and seventh-grade students will board in the new dorms for six months of weekends leading up to the National Exams. Boarding will give them an additional 16 hours of studying and tutoring a week. It is imperative that the 4th-graders pass the National Exams so that they don’t have to repeat third and fourth grade. It is critical that the 7th-graders pass the exams so they can continue to secondary school.
Precious Project has been tasked with growing its donor base by a dedicated and generous donor who has promised to match all donations from NEW donors up to $100,000! We are seeking new donors and are turning to you, our loyal supporters, to ask if you could help us champion our cause. Also, we are proud to announce the results of our students' performance on the mock National Examinations taken earlier this month.....
NSHUPU - Dehydrated, hungry and naked, Thomas (not his real name) was recently rescued by Precious Project. In March, co-founder Susie Rheault led a teacher training on child abuse, and certain at-risk children were identified. A month later, when one of these children did not come to school for two days, co-founders William and Sarah Modest and social worker, Irene Peter Assey, paid a visit to the child’s home.
NSHUPU - Precious Project is planning to build dormitories in an effort to support the fourth and seventh-graders as they prepare to take the national exams. According to Tanzania's Ministry of Education, when fourth-graders fail the national exam twice, they repeat third and fourth grade. When seventh-graders fail once - their scholastic careers are over! They are denied entrance into any school.
NSHUPU - They gather religiously every week. This group of chattering women isn't a knitting circle or a social club. This is business. Precious Project has helped facilitate a women's empowerment group for several years. The group started as a savings and loan group, where women buy into the group with a purchase of shares. Those shares are the pool of money that’s available to be loaned to members of the group.
NSHUPU - Precious Primary School is officially on the map, scoring first in the ward on the Tanzanian National Exam. All of Precious Primary's fourth graders who took the exam passed it. And their scores ranked the school at the top of the ward and 4th in the district out of 300 other schools. This is a testament to the hard work of our teachers and school administration.
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Precious Project, Inc.
231 Bussey Street
Dedham, MA 02026
+1 856-297-0639
