News
Posted: Feb 22, 2010
Tackling Extreme Poverty in Africa is too difficult
You may think this, but you would be wrong. Trustees from the Livingstone Tanzania Trust visited the Academy on the 20th November 2009 and explained how their holistic approach is working to help fight extreme poverty.
Deforestation is tackled by training groups to make fuel efficient stoves with back boilers which reduces firewood consumption by 80%, reduces a household expenditure, generates income and the back boiler heats water using no additional firewood and kills water borne diseases at the same time. Encouraging primary school students to plant trees provides them with a sustainable source of trees.
Rotting fruit and vegetables can last 2-3 weeks rather than 2-3 days in electricity free “fridges” which can also be made by the community using local materials. This is encouraging families to plant more vegetables which will improve the family’s health and allow them to generate a better income from their surpluses.
Post 16 students are beginning to establish a link with Kwaraa School in Bubati, Tanzania and learning about the similarities and differences between the two schools. Students are selling Christmas Cards to raise money for a new classroom to be built for the school.
Here's what Hayley Merrit, one the students at the academy, has to say about the project:
My name is Hayley and I am a travel and tourism student here at Harris Academy .In lessons we have been learning about the work of Livingstone Tanzania Trust. We have written reports about the work they do in Tanzania, and the services they offer to their customers as an organisation. After Julian from Livingstone Tanzania Trust came to talk about his organisation I felt that the possibility of link with a school in Tanzania was fantastic and I was interested to know more. By having a direct link with Tanzania our academy could give advice to Tanzanian schools about how they can improve, and in return they can help us to be aware of Tanzania as a tourist destination. Julian made us aware of how we can take education for granted and how those less fortunate are desperate to have it. I remember Julian explaining his mission statement ‘linking tourism to development work’. This statement really stuck in my mind because if all organisations were like Livingstone then tourism would not only be about holidays but helping others in the process
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