When Africa Foundation and &Beyond began to engage with the community, they identified the development of their primary school as a priority need. Established in 2008, Mbirikiri Primary school opened with 59 pupils (35 male pupils and 24 female pupils) and two teachers. At that time, the school had 2 classrooms.
Over the course of time, there has been a notable surge in enrolment at Mbirikiri Primary, facilitated by, but exceeding, the infrastructure development at the school. As of 2023, there are 561 students registered from nursery, to Class 7 (290 male pupils and 271 female pupils). They are taught by 7 teachers.
Even with the efforts that have been made towards providing better access to education, there are still needs that cannot be discounted at Mbirikiri primary school. An increment in the number of pupils’ enrolment, and expansion of the school to include a pre-school level, has brought forth an immediate demand for extra classrooms and desks. The school currently has 7 classrooms however only 5 are in use with 2 undergoing repairs. The community has also commenced construction of a further two.
Mbrikiri Primary School is located in Serengeti District in Mara region. More than 70% of the district is under the protected area category (National Parks, Game Reserves and Wildlife Management Areas) leaving only 660km2 of land for agriculture, livestock keeping and residence. Mbirikiri is an agropastoral community with limited space to practice livestock keeping and crop cultivation, which are major economic activities of the community. Formal employment in the area is mainly through the tourism industry. While awareness on education has recently been growing, availability and delivery of social services are lagging for Mbirikiri community due to its remoteness.
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