Official opening of Dormitory and Gymnasium
On Tuesday 25th March, the Sisters of Mary in Tanzania celebrated the inauguration of a new dormitory and gymnasium at their Dodoma Boystown school.
The ceremony was attended by guests of honour; Minister of Education for Tanzania, Prof. Adolf Mkenda, Archbishop Beatus Kinyaiya, Cardinal Protase Rugambwa, and a representative of the Vice President of Tanzania.
Dodoma Boystown provides free, quality secondary academic and vocational education for the poorest boys from all over Tanzania. The school is funded by supporters in the UK and around the world. This is the fourth Sisters of Mary humanitarian education programme in Tanzania, joining Kisarawe Girlstown and Kiluvya Nursery and the Training Centre for out of school young women near Dar es Salaam.
Success and expansion
At the inauguration Archbishop Kinyaiya said “When I came here today, I was amazed, surprised to see that building, because the last time I was here, there was nothing, just a field. It as if the building has fallen from heaven. Sisters, you have done wonders. And to have such a beautiful school, which in normal times would have been for the children of the very rich. But instead this is a school for the poorest of the poorest.”
Dodoma Boystown opened in September 2023 with 175 boys. In January 2025, Dodoma Boystown welcomed 201 new boys. Building projects continue and when every phase is complete, the school will have the capacity to care for and educate more than 1,000 boys every year.
At School
The boys have access to quality academic and vocational education to equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to find decent work when they finish secondary school. Recently a new computer laboratory and bakery were completed to teach boys vital skills in computer technology and bread and pastry making respectively. The skills the boys are learning, alongside their nationally accredited academic curriculum, will prepare them for stable, fairly paid work with local employers.
Despite expanding free, compulsory basic education up until four years of secondary school, children living in extreme poverty in Tanzania face barriers to education such as not having enough money for food, transport, uniforms, or textbooks. Tanzania lacks adequate teaching infrastructure to deliver quality education to the growing population. This is why the Sisters of Mary programmes are so vital for the country. They provide not just free quality education, but remove the other barriers by providing food, clothing, education supplies, and quality teaching for thousands of children every year.
Providing a vital service
The Sisters of Mary have a close relationship with the Ministry of Education Science and Technology in Tanzania (MoEST) and have their full support in providing desperately needed educational opportunities1In 2018, 54% of the Tanzanian population lived in multidimensional poverty (https://pip.worldbank.org/country-profiles/TZA) for boys and girls living in extreme poverty from all over Tanzania.
With the help of supporters around the world, the Sisters of Mary Tanzanian programmes serve a total of 1,583 children and young women in Tanzania (1,009 girls in Kisarawe Girlstown, 152 toddlers in Kiluvya Nursery, 55 young women in Kiluvya Training Centre and 367 boys in Dodoma Boystown).
Video from the day thanks to Johari Media
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