Course: Grade 12 Design Block (D-Block)
Date: Spring 2019
Teacher: Matt Rock
For many children in the Digo community outside Tanga, Tanzania, the idea of attending school is out of reach. Their parents, who struggle to grow crops to feed their families, have little money left over to send them to the city school. Girls are even less likely to receive an education as traditional culture keeps them working very hard at home. Amani Primary School strives to provide these families with quality education close to home.
One current challenge Amani Primary School is facing is the need for updated technology to help students learn and expand their skills. Currently the school has a few old computers housed in a room that serves as a library/office/computer lab. This multi-purpose space is not well configured to be used as a learning space for students; with over 300 students at the school, opportunities for productive computer use is limited. Senior students at London Christian High worked in their Design Block (D-Block) class to create a possible solution to this problem – a ‘Mobile Classroom’.
Throughout the semester, students in the D-Block class designed, prototyped, built and completed a retrofit of a 40 ft. long steel shipping container into a classroom space. In partnership with Hope Story, this ‘mobile classroom’ is designed to serve the learning needs of children in Tanzania. As Christians, we believe that God has blessed us with the purpose of blessing others with His amazing love (Genesis 12:2). Not only did this project engage our students in new and relevant skills and learning, the work also had a meaningful purpose embedded directly in the final product.
It’s more like real life; it’s a different way of learning. Students will leave here with a global awareness and knowing they are doing something to make a difference in the world.
Matt Rock, Teacher
What I’m going to take away from this project is that we don’t really realize the impact this will have on the kids in Tanga. We don’t realize how powerful this project is – it will give them an opportunity they’ve never had before, access to the internet, access to new technology, new tools for learning which gives them a whole new outlook on education and widens the variety of things they can learn. This has been a great opportunity to share God’s light with others.
– Dylan Vandersleen, Student