RPCS partners with Nurturing Minds to bring e-readers to solar-powered girls’ school in Tanzania

RP Construction Services (RPCS) announced earlier this week the launch of a campaign to bring e-readers to the Secondary Education for Girls’ Advancement (SEGA) school in Morogoro, Tanzania, with the help of Nurturing Minds, a U.S.-based non-profit organization.

Funded by North American parent organization Nurturing Minds, the SEGA school opened in 2008 to provide quality education and life skills for at-risk girls in Tanzania. SEGA provides secondary education and housing for over 270 girls in grades 7 through 11. In addition, 60 graduates live off-campus and are currently enrolled in continuing education programs supported by SEGA scholarships and SEGA’s “Modern Girl” community outreach program which gives another 450 girls in very remote villages the chance to learn skills and improve their future through weekly clubs facilitated by SEGA graduates and staff. Their mission is to educate and empower Tanzanian girls who are impoverished, marginalized and in danger of becoming involved in exploitative forms of child labor.

Introducing e-readers will provide the opportunity for students to become active learners through technology and will be an added resource to fuel academic success. Through their joint campaign, RPCS and Nurturing Minds hope to supply 60 e-readers to students to improve reading and vocabulary skills, and aid students in scoring higher on national exams, all while creating a brighter future for SEGA students.

“We have been blessed to get book donations over the years, but it is often challenging to transport them and get them to the school,” said Laura DeDominicis, Director of Nurturing Minds. “E-readers are a fabulous, cost effective way for Nurturing Minds to expand SEGA’s library.”

SEGA also instills environmental stewardship and operates an environmentally sustainable off-the-grid campus that runs entirely on solar power. This provides a clean, renewable energy source which eliminates the dependency on unreliable nationally supplied electricity and provides a superior learning environment for students. The solar power will ultimately allow students to charge e-readers and give them the ability to study at night.

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world and only 17% of girls in Tanzania attend secondary school. Poverty forces many girls to drop out of school, resulting in early marriage and teen pregnancy. With a 97% pass rate and a 96% retention rate, a quality education provided by SEGA leads to continuing education, future employment and ultimately an increased standard of living which includes improved healthcare, food security, and housing. Just one extra year of secondary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 15 to 25%.

SEGA uses a holistic approach to education which includes an academically challenging Tanzanian curriculum, entrepreneurship development, and a comprehensive life skills and leadership program. In addition, the school teaches computer technology and entrepreneurship and provides the girls with counseling, business training, and healthcare. It is now ranked in the top 20% of small secondary schools in Tanzania

“This campaign is simple,” said RPCS founder Eb Russell. “It’s about those 270 girls. You give and their lives change forever.” RPCS has pledged to match each dollar raised.

Together, RPCS and Nurturing Minds are working toward building a brighter future.