Our Work
The School
BEMS is a private English school and is an affordable alternative to the lower quality public schools in the area. All classes are taught in English from all ages compared to public schools that only have one class taught in English. This prepares our students for both higher education and endless opportunities. We have classes in Kiswahili, English, Maths, Science, Social Studies, Civics, and Vocational Skills. In pre-school, there is one teacher per class, but in primary school we have teachers who are specialized in their respective subject and teach that to all classes. After class, we hold activities like subject club, debate class, cleaning, religion, and sports & games. By offering rich and varied teaching, BEMS supports the students to develop a great love for learning, knowledge and discovery.
The Girls' Dormitory
Where is BEMS?
Our location in Tanzania
A Map of Our Campus
Community Outreach
The Hodari Education Foundation
Our mission of educating the community and promoting better lifestyles goes beyond the running of the Bright Medium English School for the children. As school is just one part of a child's life, our mission also necessarily involves advocating the importance of education to parents and members of our surrounding community in Loliondo, Wasso, and Sakala.
For the last 10 years, we have visited nearly all of the widespread (mostly Maasai) communities in the region to get acquainted, exchange cultural ideas, and promote our values of education for all people. Many of these people live in rural areas without much previous communication with others outside of their community, so our efforts for education are often new and unfamiliar. That is why we always begin by building a relationship with the family and community and look to learn the most that we can about them. Afterwards, we hold workshops on the importance of education but also to give them a perspective on some cultural beliefs and traditions. For example, we teach the importance of gender equality, the hazards of female genial mutilation, and other things that we have seen to cause damage to Maasai communities, especially women.
It is important for us to do this the right way so for the last few years, we have been registered as a community organization with the Tanzanian government. We notify the government of our visits and ensure that our efforts are sustainable.
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This project has been consistently progressing as we go out at least every 2 weeks and constantly return to communities as we find following up and consistent education to be the most effective. November and December is a particularly important time for us as at this time we push for parents to start their children in school for the new year in February. Our efforts to promote education do not only concern BEMS as we are aware that not every family can pay the fees associated with a private school. Because of this, we support many children to go to school in the area and are very involved in ensuring that their education continues.
In the last 10 years, we are proud to say that things have changed in this community. Whereas in the beginning many parents did not want to send their children to school and would rather have their sons to work with the cattle and marry their daughters young, there is much growth and more and more children are going to school.
