Who We Are

The Africa School Assistance Project (ASAP) is committed to increasing access to quality public education in East Africa, especially for girls.  Why?  Because education, more than any other sector of development, seeds dramatic improvement in poverty reduction, gender equality, health outcomes, child immunization, HIV/AIDS prevention, environmental protection and wildlife conservation. Simply put, widely available public education will lead to a prosperous, peaceful and sustainable future for Africa.

For now ASAP has chosen to focus on Tanzania because it struggles with one of the worst education systems in East Africa.  Our solution is to systematically develop community schools  and provide comprehensive support for girls in rural regions of Tanzania who face a dismal future without an education.  

We build strong partnerships with the villagers and government in every community where we work.  Our model is predicated on community ownership and project sustainability.  Our work is scalable and replicable to maximize impact in the greatest number of places.  And, we work hard to ensure everything we do is efficient, effective and culturally appropriate.

ASAP also leads groups of volunteers to Africa each June to lend a hand in the school
construction process.  This powerful concept of bega kwa bega (Swahili for “shoulder to shoulder”) has been central to our model since the beginning.  Check out the volunteer page for more details and to watch a short video about this amazing experience!

ASAP is a 501(c)3 and is an NGO registered with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania.

The Kupanda Project:

Secondary Education For Girls

Something must be done to address this high drop out rate because the benefits of education for girls are indisputable.  Girls with a secondary education have higher family incomes, marry later, have fewer children and at an older age, invest into their children’s education and immunize their children 50% more than mothers who are not educated. And AIDS spreads twice as quickly among uneducated girls than among girls with education. Simply put, girl’s education is the single most powerful investment to shape a better future for Tanzania.

For this reason, ASAP created The Kupanda Project for Girls, an innovative approach to comprehensively support girls to gain a quality secondary school education in rural Tanzania. The idea is simple – bring together, under one program, myriad supports for Tanzanian girls so they can safely access school and complete their lower secondary education.  The Kupanda Project will raise completion rates for girls at rural lower secondary schools to 50% or higher by building dormitories and providing girls with personal support, academic programs and a leadership & empowerment curriculum.  Perhaps most importantly, Kupanda includes a strategy for engaging and educating the community (especially men and boys) about the importance of girl’s education.

The Kupanda Project is a replicable model that can be implemented in rural communities across Tanzania and other East African countries. By achieving this scale, ASAP will contribute to overall gender equality and female empowerment in Tanzania and across Africa.

Our commitment to a “whole girl” approach is why ASAP was one of only a few nonprofits selected in 2016 to join Let Girls Learn, a Obama era government effort to combat the harsh challenges that keep adolescent girls from attending and completing school around the world.

Watch this short video to be inspired!