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The Zanzibar Project

On the beautiful island of Zanzibar, located off the coast of east-central Africa, we were privileged enough to meet a beautiful community of aspiring leaders, educators, dancers, and artists. These gifted individuals are committed to evolving their community by continuously supporting each other, using their bodies as vehicles of expression, and dream of developing their education to be active members of their society. In 2021, amidst the pandemic, we built a community center right in the heart of a group of villages between Paje and Makunduchi. The center is made to be a safe foundational space for the community to harness and carry out their true passions in a supportive environment. Through understanding their aspirations, we have designed the space to serve both the educational and recreational needs to maximize the potential of the youth visiting the center. Our facility includes a library, computer room, a communal recreational area, living quarters, two classrooms, and an outdoor stage with bleachers for the audience, all using sustainable resources. In our efforts to bridge the unemployment gap, we are further developing the facility by providing daily English classes to help the community acquire jobs and be self-sustainable since most jobs require one to speak English. Due to the lack of local schools providing that, the existing positions are occupied by citizens of other East African countries due to their bilingual capabilities. The government's lack of investment in education leaves most of the local population to find traditional means of self-sustenance like being a fisherman or collecting shells and salt to get by daily. There is no real drive for education as there is no way it will help their living conditions, so most children leave school early to support their family members get by. Alongside English and the acrobatics program, we have set up tailoring and carpentry courses that aid in developing a more considerable, highly demanded skillset for the locals of the community. The framework that we have created for the community center will aid the locals in acquiring more skills and knowledge to help broaden the scope of opportunities available to them.

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