PATRIZIA Primary School Songea
In Songea, in 2020, Missionary Benedictines, with the help of the PATRIZIA Foundation built a primary school on the land of the PATRIZIA Child Care Songea. Up to 500 children, from pre-school to year six receive the chance at high quality education.
The PATRIZIA Primary School Songea is the fourth facility of the PATRIZIA Foundation in Tanzania. Lessons started at the end of 2020. In the summer of 2021, more than 370 children attended the school. Both the children’s home as well as the primary school are run by the Missonary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing. They have been a dependable on-site partner of the foundation for over twenty years and also fulfil the demand for sustainability that the PATRIZIA Foundation expects.
‘’The school radiates a positive influence as a role model for Songea and everywhere else.’’
Kristian Bollmann
Project Manager at PATRIZIA Foundation
Bright rooms with plenty of space
A good base for this longevity is the solid building of the primary school. The buildings are not just extremely well built, but offer a plethora of space. The square shaped building complex (Atrium) surrounds a large courtyard. The classrooms are on two floors. They are spacious, airy and bright, and it is possible for up to 40 children to be taught in them. As well as the fourteen classrooms (two per year) the school offers various other rooms: a library, a staff room and plenty of good sanitary resources.
High quality educational offers and a new educational approach
The PATRIZIA Primary School in Songea, run by the Missionary Benedictines, covers the need for high quality education in that region. Priory Sister Ruth explains: ‘‘In Songea, the way of teaching is still very traditional. However, there are more and more young parents, that want their children to attend a school which is safe and clean, that also offers high quality education.’’
The new school offers an alternative style of learning. The pre-school for example uses the Montessori educational style, that looks at working in the cognitive, as well as psychomotor development of the students into their way of learning.
Our Project Partner:
Tale of happiness from Songea
The chance at a future
As an orphan, Nahla* found a safe home at PATRIZIA Child Care Songea. Since 2020, thanks to the support of the Missionary Sisters, she has been able to attend the newly built PATRIZIA Primary School Songea: the base for the chance later on to be able to attend a school which offers further education and to be able to learn a trade, too. For a child that grows up an orphan, this is not a typical occurrence. The new primary school in Songea is an important link in the educational chain, that is able to give children like Nahla a chance at a future which they can define for themselves.
*name was changed