Oxfam has been supporting schools in the Shinyanga region of Tanzania since the late 1980s, originally supplying equipment and books, but more recently helping to improve the quality of teaching.
In the past, the atmosphere in classrooms tended to be subdued, with little teacher-student interaction and pupils just copying down lessons from the blackboard. Absentee and drop-out rates were also high.
However, Oxfam helped to introduce more child-centred teaching methods, by providing in-service training. And today in schools like Solwa primary, lessons are far more inclusive, engaging and interesting for teachers and pupils alike.
Esther Leonard teaches here: "Oxfam challenged us to be better teachers and supports us with training and materials. If you had been here ten years ago, you would have seen the teacher spending most of their time at the front of the class talking or writing. Children could disappear in a large class and sit there getting nothing from a lesson. Now we take all the children with us."
"Today, teachers don't only talk but listen. Children are involved in the lesson and they are encouraged to contribute. Pupils are keen to explain themselves. They are learning much better than they did in the past and they are happy to be in school."
And it's something that is reflected in exam results across the region, rising from significantly below the national average to well above it.