Oxfam is involved in education projects in Shinyanga Region and the Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region - amongst the poorest and most educationally deprived areas of the country.

Since 1998, we have been providing school furniture and teaching materials, constructing classrooms, and funding the training of school management committees in schools in Shinyanga town and Shinyanga rural district.

In 2002 the government introduced free and compulsory primary education which, however, created an additional problem of class sizes - in some places teachers have to manage classes of nearly 100.

The following year, we introduced our ongoing EQUIP programme, which trains and supports teachers so that they work more effectively in the classroom. And it’s a project that has an impact.

Asked what difference Oxfam's EQUIP training had made to his role as a teacher, Richard Machibya, from Kituli primary school, explained: 'Before I was desperate, like a traditional lamp which runs out of oil all the time with a weak wick and a small flame. After the training I felt stronger and brighter. Now I have such a good appetite for teaching - I'm looking at books all the time finding things for my students.'