Boane Project: Collaborating with Escola Primária Comunitária de Vunguine

In response to a cyclone that occurred in February, Grade 3 students at the Aga Khan Academy Maputo are collaborating with a school in the Boane District of Mozambique to rebuild their library that was destroyed.  

Many homes and schools around Mozambique were impacted by heavy rainfall and flooding, affecting over one million people, according to ReliefWeb. In response to this, students and staff at the Academy came together to support their communities by collecting funds, nonperishable foods and other items. However, when delivering the donations to Escola Primária Comunitária de Vunguine (Complete Primary School of Vunguine), the Grade 3 students were struck by the absence of a proper library at the school because of the floods.   

Seeing this, the students decided to take action. After their visit to the school, they began collecting books to donate; they did not want the flooding to affect the impacted students’ love for reading.  

“I am happy to be able to help the students,” said Grade 3 student Akshaya Taludkar.  

However, around the time the students were collecting the books, they began a new lesson in their mathematics class focusing on solving problems involving money. Applying what they learnt in this class, along with another unit they learnt on natural disasters and their impact on the country, the students decided to organise a “Market Day” at the Academy in April, where they sold their own products to raise funds for purchasing more books.  

Eager to put their entrepreneurial skills to the test, the students diligently crafted business plans, created advertisement videos, designed posters and printed pamphlets to spread the word about their ventures. The event proved to be a resounding success, with the students collectively earning around MZN 50,000 (over USD 783).  

“At Aga Khan Academy Maputo, we foster active learning that encourages students to ask questions, conduct research and explore new ideas,” said Grade 3 Teacher José Arnaldo. “This is what happened with this project. Aligned with the vision of the Aga Khan Academies, the Grade 3 students prompted to help the Complete Primary School of Vunguine, with hope for a positive change both in the school and also within the community of Boane District.” 

Encouraged by this, the students decided to take their initiative one step further and are now collecting funds that will be used to build a new library for the impacted school, with the initiative being called the “Boane Project”. The envisioned setup would provide a space for reading lessons and serve as a shelter during rainy days, enabling the students at the school to continue their educational pursuits amidst challenging circumstances. 

“With the amount [of funds] and the books that we have collected so far, we expect to start building the library and be able to continue projects such as this in other communities,” Mr José said.