CORE Tanzania was conceived as a response to the observations of its founder, Michael Banobi, of the declining vitality of the community in his native village of Bushasha in northwestern Tanzania. The region was hit hard by the AIDS crisis, and over-fishing of Lake Victoria together with poor markets for the region’s coffee have severely impacted the local economy. Michael struggled to think of a way to help, and became convinced that improved education was the most important factor needed to move the community forward.

During a 2015 visit to Bushasha from his current home in Seattle, Michael discussed the situation with the village elders. They agreed that education was a pressing need in the community. Michael suggested the possibility of establishing a high school in the village, since the nearest secondary school is four miles away. But the elders convinced him to consider instead another primary school. They explained that the existing government school in Bushasha is severely over-crowded and under-resourced, and as a result is not providing students with adequate preparation for secondary school. The elders were enthusiastic about the idea of establishing a new primary school in the village, and offered to donate village land for its construction.

Back in Seattle and buoyed by the enthusiasm of the village elders, Michael gathered a group of volunteer board members all passionate about access to education. Together they formed CORE Tanzania as a Washington State nonprofit corporation in July 2016. CORE Tanzania has chosen the establishment of a new school, Twegashe Primary School, in the village of Bushasha as its first project in working toward increased access to quality education throughout rural Tanzania. CORE held its organizational board meeting in November of 2016, and began the task of detailed planning for the construction and operation of Twegashe Primary School.

This is just the beginning of the story. Through the involvement and support of many wonderful volunteers and donors, the Twegashe School project is now well underway. But there is still much more to be done. We welcome you to join us, and the people of Bushasha Village, in writing the next chapters!