MCDO Impact Stories

Partnering for Deeper Impact

In September 2024, Maisha Capacity Development Opportunity (MCDO) expanded its commitment to child-centered development through a collaborative initiative aimed at strengthening student engagement in schools. Using our Life Link Model, we focused on enhancing student voice and participation at Babati Day Secondary School, in partnership with Mikuyu Tanzania (formerly Livingstone Tanzania Trust).

Building Capacity for Student Participation

To ensure meaningful and informed engagement, we worked alongside Children’s Voices in Action, a specialist organization that trained our teams and school stakeholders on best practices for involving students in feedback and decision-making processes.

Independent Evaluation: ABATI DAY Impact Report

The data gathered was compiled and evaluated independently by Children's Voices in Action, resulting in the ABATI DAY Impact Report. This report provided an objective analysis of how the students perceived the changes brought by our programs.

These findings were not only insightful but also instrumental in shaping ongoing and future interventions under the Life Link Model.

From Feedback to Action

The Babati Day experience exemplified how structured student participation can directly influence school improvement. With the support of Mikuyu Tanzania, school leaders were engaged in reviewing the findings and implementing follow-up actions. This included improving communication mechanisms and revisiting school policies that affect student welfare.

Scaling What Works

This successful collaboration reinforces MCDO's belief that empowering students is central to building resilient learning environments. The lessons learned at Babati Day Secondary School are now being used to scale similar engagement initiatives across our school programs.

Addressing a Silent Barrier to Education

At Maisha Capacity Development Opportunity (MCDO), we believe that access to basic hygiene facilities is not a luxury—it's a right, especially for girls. In 2024, we identified a critical need at Babati Day Secondary School, where poor sanitation facilities were causing not only discomfort but serious challenges including illness, absenteeism, and even school dropouts among female students.

A Safe and Supportive Solution

In collaboration with Mikuyu Tanzania (formerly Livingstone Tanzania Trust), we supported the construction of modern, gender-sensitive toilets for the girls at Babati Day. These new facilities were designed with dignity and safety in mind, providing:

Improving Health, Attendance, and Confidence

By addressing the hygiene barrier, we've seen:

This project doesn't just build toilets—it builds hope, equality, and opportunity for girls to reach their full potential.

A Commitment to Long-Term Impact

These new facilities are now fully operational and managed by the school community. We continue to support hygiene education and maintenance efforts to ensure sustainability. Our Life Link Model emphasizes infrastructure combined with training and student participation to foster long-term impact.

Listening Deeply Before Acting

At Maisha Capacity Development Opportunity (MCDO), our LifeLink Model guides every step of our work. In 2024, when we began collaborating with Head Teachers from some of Babati's lowest-performing schools, we noticed a clear trend—many were located in the rural north-eastern part of town.

Learning From Those Who Live the Reality

In line with our "Listen" and "Learn" pillars, we launched a two-month participatory research process. With the blessing of local and town officials, we sat down with community members from all walks of life—elders, parents, farmers, business owners, religious leaders, women, and youth.

We used inclusive tools, including gender-separated groups, to ensure that women's voices were heard in this patriarchal setting. We listened not just for data, but for stories. We learned about:

Linking Hearts and Hands to Solutions

Our "Link" pillar reminds us that change happens in relationship. We're not planning to drop in prepackaged answers. Instead, we will return to these same communities, share what we heard, and build together.

We expect that in the months ahead, communities will come to us with areas where they want support. Whatever emerges, it will be co-produced—designed by and for the people.

Loving Through Trust and Patience

It takes love and humility to sit, listen, and wait—to trust that the community knows best what it needs. That is the heart of our work. We love not through charity, but through partnership.

Leading Together Toward a Better Future

What will success look like?

It's not only top exam scores or new classrooms. It's when a mother feels empowered to speak at a school meeting. When youth lead change in their neighborhoods. When communities mobilize around education as a shared dream.

It's when local leadership grows from within and new habits of collaboration emerge. These are the seeds of long-term transformation.

Listening to Understand, Not Prescribe

At Maisha Capacity Development Opportunity (MCDO), we believe that solutions grow from the ground up—not from the top down. Through our LifeLink Model, we begin by Listening.

Learning Together, Season by Season

Informed by what we heard, we moved forward with humility—guided by the Learn pillar. With support from local leaders, we established a demonstration tomato plot on land like that of the local farmers.

We knew that real learning must be accessible and trustworthy. That's why our training happened both in local school classrooms and in the fields, step by step:

This wasn't a crash course. It was a relationship—training + mentoring = confidence and success.

Linking Farmers to Markets and Each Other

The Link element of our LifeLink Model recognizes that no family thrives in isolation.

We helped connect farmers to larger regional markets, where they could sell their surplus produce at competitive prices—up to Tsh 50,000 per crate, compared to the local Tsh 20,000–30,000.

Loving by Walking Beside, Not Ahead

Loving in the LifeLink model means being present when it matters most.

Our Community Agricultural Support Officers (CASOs) visit fields weekly. They don't just teach—they walk the rows, inspect the plants, and respond to late-night phone calls.

We are not only training farmers—we are empowering fathers, mothers, and children. The rise in income is not just profit; it's potential: school fees, better food, clean water, and stronger futures.

Leading to Transformation, One Family at a Time

The Lead pillar in LifeLink is not about leading from the front—it's about co-leading with the community.

When farmers see results—like a 294% increase in profits, from Tsh 1.2M to 4.9M per season—they begin to lead their own change.

Farming becomes more than survival. It becomes a strategy for family dignity. It leads to:

What's Next?

We are scaling this approach to reach more farmers, more families, and more futures. If one quarter-acre of land can earn more than 15 sacks of maize, imagine what happens when we help families farm smarter, not harder.

A Vision Years in the Making

This is a story many years in the making... The Sawe community leaders had long since had a vision of building a primary school in their community because they were concerned about:

Empowering Families as Foundations of the Child's Success

The Life Link Model teaches that children flourish best when their families are empowered and supported to raise them responsibly.

In Sawe, MCDO responded by strengthening families, enabling them to build a strong foundation for their children and youth:

Building the School Together

In 2017, we brought our first volunteers, Jade and Bjorn, who worked alongside 100 community members to build the walls and prepare the foundations. By January 2018, Kindergarten and Standard 1 enrolled and were fed.

Since then, we've added classrooms annually. In January 2024, those first Standard 1 students became Standard 7 students preparing for final exams. Our expectations are high—not just for exam results but for the responsible, community-focused adults they're becoming.

The School as a Center of Community Life

On 21st March 2024, we celebrated with the community, Town Council, teachers and students—feasting and laughing together.

Families and Children: Growing Strong Together

The success of Sawe School cannot be separated from empowered families who now:

Conclusion: Raising Children in a Circle of Strength

Sawe School is more than bricks and mortar. It is a living example of how empowering families transforms children's futures.

In Babati, northern Tanzania, a powerful collaboration between Street Business School (SBS) and Maisha Capacity Development Opportunity (MCDO) is transforming lives. Through entrepreneurship training and community development programs, this partnership empowers 167 small-scale farmers, their families, and youth to build sustainable livelihoods and secure a brighter future.

The Life Link Model: A Framework for Sustainable Development

The Life Link Model recognizes that true empowerment is not just about economic gain but the combined growth of individuals, families, and communities. SBS and MCDO embrace this by focusing on:

Program Highlights and Impact

Street Business School (SBS) Training

SBS offers a rigorous six-month entrepreneurship training program designed to help participants start and grow viable businesses without relying on loans or grants:

Maisha Capacity Development Opportunity (MCDO)

On the ground, MCDO facilitates the SBS program while adding complementary initiatives:

Empowering Families and Preparing Youth

Through this partnership, families gain tools to create stable homes, leading to:

Empowering Families Through Enterprise

The SBS program does more than just build businesses—it empowers families to raise children and youth as future leaders by:

• Helping parents and youth develop stable incomes through small, sustainable enterprises
• Building financial skills that improve household budgeting and investments in education and health
• Creating a culture of responsibility and entrepreneurship that children observe and learn from
• Encouraging collaboration and support through mixed youth-and-parent learning groups

The Life Link Model in Action

Life Link Step	SBS Program Response
Building Relationships	Trust built through group training and peer mentorship
Community-Led Vision	Participants set business goals aligned with family and community needs
Shared Responsibility	Emphasis on accountability in business and family
Doing Together	Group learning among youth and parents
Family & Youth Empowerment	Mixed groups training youth and parents, fostering intergenerational learning
Sustainable Training	Practical skills for loan-free business growth
Enabling Environment	Strong family economies support education
Long-Term Capacity	Graduates build lasting businesses and legacies
Celebrating Together	Public success sharing builds community pride

Real Impact: Families Raising Future Leaders

Families report transformative changes:

• Ability to pay school fees and provide nutritious meals
• Children seeing parents as entrepreneurial role models
• Family units becoming supportive ecosystems for growth
• Youth gaining confidence for community leadership

Conclusion: Sustainable Growth for Families and Communities

This partnership shows that economic empowerment is essential for raising capable children and youth. By providing skills and support for sustainable businesses, we create nurturing environments that fully respond to the Life Link Model.

This holistic approach develops not just businesses, but future leaders - laying the foundation for a brighter, self-reliant future for Babati's families and beyond.

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