Our Journey
KYGN is a Tanzanian NGO whose aim is to improve the opportunities of young girls in the Kilimanjaro Region. What started as a small community project is now a registered school providing education, health care and safe house accommodation to some of the most disadvantaged children in Tanzania.
IN THE BEGINNING
Annamaria Kanondo is the Founder and Project Director of KYGN. In 2006 she visited the Mabogini area and was struck by the conditions in which young children, particularly girls, were living.
In a country where most children attend primary school, Annamaria saw that many children in Mabogini, often girls, had no access to education at all. The extreme poverty in the area has also led to children facing severe neglect or abandonment, physical or even sexual abuse.
THE FIRST SCHOOL
Using her own savings and money donated from her family and friends Annamaria set up a small school in the Mabogini area to provide primary education to children who would otherwise never receive it.
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The school quickly had huge demand. What started at 20 children quickly grew to 60. To accommodate all of the children overflow classrooms had to be built out of whatever materials could be found.
BUILDING THE NEW SCHOOL
Anna knew that the only way to provide the kind of education needed would be to build a proper school building for the KYGN children.
Over the space of 5 years she painstakingly raised enough funds to build four classrooms. The official KYGN school was finally opened in April 2014.
KYGN IN 2017
11 years since Anna first visited Mabogini, KYGN provides education for more than 150 girls (and some boys).
KYGN also acts as a social service in the area, working with village Chairmen and local authorities to support at risk families.
In 2016 KYGN opened a safe house where, at any one time, 20-30 children can be offered a secure and safe home while a long term solution is found.
THE ROAD TO SUSTAIN-ABILITY
KYGN's aim is to be a fully self-sustainable organisation providing education and welfare services for the children of Mabogini.
We already have a tilapia fish farm, we are selling maize and onions from land donated to the school and there is also a chicken farm.
This is in addition to the Big Horn Tours, which has been running for some years now and will organise safaris and guided climbs to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and a curio shop which sells a range of beautiful, locally sourced souvenirs.
SUPPORT KYGN
KYGN would never have achieved everything it has without the generosity and support of people and organisations across the globe.
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If you'd like to help us reach our goal of providing sustainable, high quality education to some of the most disadvantaged children in the world please get in touch or click the button below to donate now.