Ayamango Primary School is one of So They Can’s rural partner schools in Tanzania, with a wide catchment area. Every day, children walk up to 18km round-trip from surrounding villages just to attend class. Since partnering with the school in 2019, So They Can has been committed to ensuring that students have the safe and supportive environment they need to learn and thrive.

But at the end of 2023, the school faced an unexpected crisis: Ayamango’s students’ toilet block (traditional pit latrines) collapsed, putting children at risk and forcing the school to close for nearly a month. The disruption impacted both students’ health and academic progress. So the community mobilised and built temporary pit latrines, so that their children could continue learning.

‘Some students, out of shame, used the bushes, and the situation was especially difficult for the older students—especially girls experiencing their periods’. Esther, a 13-year-old Grade 6 student.

For a school already facing so many challenges, this was a heavy setback. Yet, it also became a turning point.

In May 2025, the Ayamango school community gathered in celebration for the official opening of brand-new toilet blocks: one for girls, one for boys, and one for teachers. With just over 500 children, and 10 teachers, the toilets ​​provide essential facilities to support daily school life. The project includes: wheelchair accessible toilets; a girls changing room; handwashing area within the toilet blocks; 7,000lts water tanks; a separate handwashing facility used by students for drinking, washing hands and plates. Water is pumped from a drilled water borehole, a project that was successfully completed in October 2024.

The project was made possible through partnership between the school community and So They Can and Babati District Council. Parents and community members contributed an impressive 22% of the total cost, showing their deep commitment to their children’s education and wellbeing.

“Through the combined efforts of So They Can, the community, and the Babati District Council [supervisory support] this challenge was successfully resolved Today, the students and the entire school community are overjoyed with the newly constructed toilets. These facilities will greatly enhance both education and overall well-being. Ayamango Primary School was established in 1975, and we will proudly continue it.’

— Mr. Baraza Shana, Head Teacher of Ayamango Primary School (pictured below with students)

What once felt like a crisis has now become a story of resilience, unity, and hope — a reminder that when communities and partners work together, lasting change is possible.