Schools for Life
Quality Education for All
Listen
Community-Led Development
Learn
Continuous Improvement
Sustain
Long-Term Development
Community-Led Development
Listen, Learn, Sustain
COCO is dedicated to supporting communities in their efforts to provide education to vulnerable children. Our motto is Listen, Learn, Sustain...
We listen to the needs of the community. Continuously learn from the communities we work alongside and implement strategic income-generation schemes to allow communities to sustain themselves in the long-term.
East Africa
Currently, COCO is dedicated to supporting communities in East Africa. Present operations are across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Any communities in East Africa seeking to partner with us are encouraged to return our Partnership Application Form.
Empowering Farmers to Educate Their Children
COCO has supported partners The Hoja Project to provide sustainable agriculture training to farmers in rural Tanzania. The farmers are taught innovative techniques, which enable them to boost crop yields.
Having received the training, Bahati Nungu (pictured) increased her crop yields from 5 to 20 sacks of rice, allowing her to provide sufficient food for her family and sell the excess. Her income has doubled as a result, with funds being used to provide education and healthcare to her five children.
Having benefitted from training herself, Bahati now teaches other members of the community, allowing others to share her skills. You can read more about sustainable agriculture training here.
Project Partners
Sustainable agriculture training and other programmes would not be possible without COCO's partner organisations. By working alongside our partners, we are able to pool our expertise and ensure that our impact is as significant as possible.
Success Stories
Quality Education for All
185 In 2017, graduates from COCO's first School for Life achieved the highest grades of 185 schools in the Ruvuma region of Tanzania for a 5th consecutive year. Read more.Making Education Accessible
81% Before the construction of Kindimba Secondary School, 81% of graduates from local primary schools were unable to continue their studies.Sustainable Provision of Education
£20 Since 2007, small loans of £20 have been distributed by The Hoja Project to start small businesses, by early 2018 6,500 small loans had been distributed.Schools for Life
Allowing Students to Reach their Potential
At Hoja Secondary School in Tanzania, COCO supported the community to construct separate boys' and girls' dormitories.
Augustino Ndonde is staying in the boys' dormitory, which has eliminated his one and a half hour journey each way to school; "When I finished in day school, by the time I got home I was tired and did not have time to study. In the mornings, I was so tired that I could not concentrate on school. Now I am staying in the dormitory, I have more time for studying. Before I was averaging grades of 40%, within a year of staying in the dormitory these increased to 60%, aiding my chances of becoming a lawyer."
Six Key Elements Combine
The Schools for Life programme aims to replicate the success of Hoja Secondary School in Tanzania. In 2013, graduates from Hoja Secondary achieved the highest grades of 173 schools in the Ruvuma region. The school is also self-sufficient in terms of operating costs, meaning that it can continue to benefit students independent from external support.
COCO's initial aim was to support communities to construct 8 Schools for Life across East Africa before 2020, but in 2019 we have already reached an astounding 15 schools!
Shelter
In order for children to be able to work and focus effectively, they must be provided with good quality classrooms and somewhere safe and secure to sleep at night.
Power
Did you know that as few as 2% of people living in rural Tanzania have access to electricity? Taking advantage of the abundant African sun, solar power can provide light and computer skills to students.
Water & Sanitation
Access to clean water prevents illness, saves time which would previously have been wasted travelling to collect water and also enables cultivation of crops.
Food
Implementation of sustainable agriculture provides schools with an abundance of nutritious food for teachers and students, as well as enabling the school to sell excess produce to generate income.
Sport & Recreation
Recreation cultivates friendships, motivates students and encourages a healthy lifestyle. Promotion of sports and recreation through pitches and equipment contributes towards students being happy and healthy.
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial skills are essential for the leaders of tomorrow. Innovative teaching methods, training in vocational skills and access to income-generation programmes equip students for the competitive job markets.