If you have ever traveled with GIVE, you know that every project begins with a foundational sustainable development principle called Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD). ABCD is at the heart of everything we do and guides the mindfully crafted, responsible travel experiences we run around the world. One of GIVE’s most long-standing projects, and one of our strongest examples of ABCD in action, is Skuli ya Kairo GIVE, a government-run school that began as nothing more than a dream back in 2012.

Kairo Village is a vibrant coastal community on Zanzibar Island, just off the mainland of Tanzania, with which GIVE first started working back in 2011. After establishing a strong relationship with local leaders, we broke ground on a village necessity: a freshwater tank. Each day, we worked alongside more and more community members who were eager to help bring clean water to their village. During this time, we met an inspiring individual known as Teacher John, who was teaching students English words on the beach. Many children were not attending school because the nearest one was several kilometers away along a dangerous road. Through these shared experiences, a larger community dream became clear: to create a school that was accessible, safe, and capable of expanding their children’s futures. And so, the nursery school was born.

After four years, in 2016, 40 students stepped into a classroom for the first time, exercising their fundamental human right to education. Today, we are proud to announce that Skuli ya Kairo has grown from a nursery to a full primary school, with over 280+ students attending every single day. Most recently, the school was awarded #1 in the District and #3 in the Region, an incredible achievement!

This honor is a powerful testament to the dedicated teachers who travel miles each day to educate their students, the local leaders who have continuously advocated for and supported this initiative, the fundis (skilled workers) who poured countless hours into constructing the school, the thousands of volunteers who helped build it brick by brick, and, of course, the incredible students who arrive each day eager and ready to learn. None of this would have been possible without you.

And this is only the beginning. Our next step is completing the computer classroom, which will welcome learners of all ages and provide access to digital skills that, while considered basic in many parts of the world, can be transformative for future educational and career opportunities in Kairo Village. Together, we are creating waves of change that will ripple through generations. Be part of the roots of change with us.