The Pemba Foundation works to enhance the lives and livelihoods of Pemba Island's people

Building a kitchen and breakfast room for Maziwa Ngombe village nursery school

The Pemba Foundation was established in 2010 by documentary filmakers who visited Pemba Island to make an episode of the series Saving the Ocean for US public TV channel PBS.

Pemba farmer Rubea uses irrigation installed by the Pemba Foundation

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IN MEMORY OF ALI ISSA

Ali died unexpectedly in early 2025.

The Pemba Foundation was backing his dream to bring tilapia fish farming to Pemba.

Now we're continuing with the project.

2025 Highlights

Late last year Ali Issa stocked 10,000 fingerling tilapia into one of the ponds.

In 2025 the fish are growing well and will be ready to harvest in a few months.

Fish farming:

Maziwa Ngombe school:

The new breakfast kitchen/dining structure was almost complete, replacing the makeshift shelter next to it.

The interior finish was added. The first breakfasts will be provided to children in late 2025.

2024 Highlights

The renovation program started in 2023 continues. New doors throughout (see 2023 highlights below) have been completed.

Security bars have been added to all the rear windows in both wings. Floor repairs and painting throughout are next.

A new kitchen to prepare and serve breakfast porridge for all the students is under construction. It will replace the kitchen shelter to the left of the building.

Maziwa Ngombe school:

Fish farming:

Ali Issa finished building the ponds at his tilapia farming project (see 2023 highlights below). He'll stock the first batch of young fish shortly.

Vanilla Farming:

We completed a shipment of vanilla beans grown and cured by a Pemba farmer to a US-based retailer. It's a promising new market for Pemba's vanilla farmers.

2023 Highlights

Schools:

One of Pemba's best schools, Fidel Castro boarding high school with 307 girls and 256 boys, told us about the bad conditions at the school -- the borehole that doesn't work in the dry season; the septic system that floods and backs up during the rains; the broken down toilets; the collapsing ceilings in classrooms.

We made a start at Castro: we drilled a new deep borehole and installed a pump; we repaired the septic and dug a new waste tank. But much more is needed. Next we'd like to take on a program of renovations on the buildings.

Flooded septic system

Rain comes through classroom ceilings

Top of new septic

Recently we were able to start a long-planned program of renovation and upgrades at Maziwa Ngombe's 400-student village nursery school, which we had built in 2018. We're making new doors, building a new toilet, adding bars and shutters on windows, repairing floors, repainting throughout, adding dropped ceilings and building a kitchen for children's breakfasts.

First steps in renovation at Maziwa Ngombe: headmaster with new classroom door.

Wete Hospital:

The newly-arrived head doctor at the hospital in Wete, one of Pemba's three towns, came to us to ask if we could help with their water supply. It had been out of action for some time.

We supplied a new borehole pump along with some basic medical equipment. In the picture the cylindrical object is the borehole pump, being received by Khamis Bilal from the health ministry.

To his right in the dark shirt is Nassor Marhun, Pemba Foundation executive director.

Fish Farming:

Not a swimming pool but a tilapia pond being built by Ali Issa, a young Pemban who qualified in aquaculture on the mainland, whom we are supporting to start aquaculture in Pemba.

Unlike mainland Tanzania Pemba has no tradition of eating freshwater fish. But if we can get it started it could take some pressure off the heavily-fished coral reefs.

It's a risky venture but with big potential non-commercial benefits that only a non-profit would want to take on.

Solar Power:

Our small-scale irrigation activities continue but here's a new twist.

Rubea has had one of our systems for a few years, but we're asking him to try our first solar-powered pump. If it works out we'll stop using gasoline-powered pumps in future.