NEW GIRLS' DORMITORY COMPOUND FOR KANYELELE SECONDARY SCHOOL

In rural Tanzania today, fewer than half of girls complete secondary education (high school). Dormitories are the best way to ensure that girls can attend school and succeed. At the moment, dozens of determined girls are sleeping on the floor of an empty classroom at Kanyelele Secondary School in Misungwi District, Tanzania. In January 2026, construction will start on a new girls’ dormitory compound funded by the American NGO Africa Schoolhouse at Kanyelele.

New designs developed by Scattergood Design are refinements of the Dormitory Compound completed last year at Milembe Secondary School, about 30 kilometers to the south.  These self-sufficient communities have the potential to enhance girls’ learning at any existing secondary school, with a matron house, dining hall, laundry and bathing building and enclosed recreation areas. At Milembe School, the dining hall doubles as study space before classes begin until 10:00 p.m., while the whole school gathers for mid-morning chai, often the students’ only nourishment during the day, the area outside the dorm compound.

The national model for girls’ and boys’ dormitories is a double-loaded corridor flanked by cubicles with two bunk beds. The Kanyelele compound aims for a less institutional feel, with clusters of four rooms are linked by a common space that’s naturally lit and ventilated, with tables and chairs so girls can study safely after lights out without disturbing their classmates. Two 16-bed clusters are mirrored along a common wall to create a single building, and three dormitories enclose a courtyard to accommodate 96 girls.

Materials are readily-available and details are drawn from Scattergood’s work over the past 12 years with the Africa Schoolhouse construction crew. Africa Schoolhouse has already drilled a deepwater well to aid in construction and serve the surrounding villagers, and rainwater will be captured and stored for washing and irrigation.

The first phase will include one 32-bed dormitory, matron house, bathing and laundry facilities. Construction of a second dorm, with dining hall, perimeter security wall and guard house, will follow as fund-raising permits.  To learn more and become a partner in improving education for girls, visit: https://www.africaschoolhouse.org/