he weeks surrounding the elections in October and November 2025 were a time of great tension for all of us at SCHULBANK e.V.. While we normally focus on curricula and exams, these days the focus was on the pure safety of our children.

The background: A country in a state of emergency

The political mood in the country was already extremely heated in the run-up to the elections. What was planned as a democratic process erupted into a wave of violence in many parts of Tanzania. While official figures are often lower, reports from international organizations and the opposition speak of a tragic outcome: hundreds of people lost their lives across the country, thousands were injured or arrested. The situation could hardly be brought under control, particularly in the major cities.

The situation in Iringa

In Iringa, the center of our work, the situation was fortunately calmer than in Dar es Salaam, for example. Nevertheless, the nervousness was palpable everywhere:

• Military presence: The streets were marked by patrolling security forces to nip any form of unrest in the bud.

• Demonstrations: There were also protests in the streets of Iringa, which visibly tensed up the atmosphere.

• Communication freeze: The temporary outage of social media and messenger services made it extremely difficult for us to disseminate information and keep in touch.

Our response: School shelter

In close coordination with the school management, we immediately took tough security measures. We instructed our scholarship holders not to leave the boarding school campuses under any circumstances. Day students were asked to stay strictly at home until the situation had stabilized.

Thankfully, this caution paid off: none of our protégés were harmed. The schools did a great job here and offered the children a safe space while the country’s political future was being negotiated outside with the use of violence.

A challenge for our work

For us as an NGO in the education sector, such a situation is a constant balancing act. Education needs stability and peace – exactly the opposite of what unrest and military presence radiate. When the journey to school becomes a life-threatening risk, everything is at stake.

The scars left by the weeks of October and November 2025 are only healing slowly. Everyday life is returning, but the awareness of the fragility of security remains. This time has shown us once again how indispensable our local networks and the deep trust we have in the local school directors are.

Elimu ni mwanga. (Education is light.) – Especially in these dark moments, we hold on to this light to give our students a secure future.