Mnyakongo Primary School is situated in the central region of Tanzania in the village of Kongwa. It was opened as a state school by the Tanzanian Government in 1961 and at the time of our first visit in 2008 had 821 students, 398 boys and 423 girls and had 21 streams. There were 35 teachers.
The present school is built on the foundations of Kongwa School which opened in 1948 for the children of the failed British Government Overseas Food Corporation Groundnut Scheme and was expanded in 1952 to utilise the abandoned buildings of the scheme. At its height, before it closed as a boarding school for colonial children in 1958, it numbered 400 European children ranging in age from 7 to 19 years.
The Mnyakongo School Project was founded in October 2008 when a small band of ageing ex-Kongwa School pupils set off to Kongwa for the 60th anniversary of the founding of our school – now Mnyakongo Primary School. Few of us had been back to Tanzania since we were teenagers there … 50 years ago! We happy few could not anticipate the impact the journey back would make upon us all.
Have a look at the “About us” page for further information.
I hope you enjoy looking around this website to see how the little steps we have taken in Kongwa so far have begun to make a difference in the school life of the children there.
Barbara Laing (Founder, Mnyakongo School Project)
Snake Rock
Pupil at Kongwa 1952 – 1958
Contact : laing.b@sky.com