Where communities have collaborated with African Wildlife Foundation to minimize threats like habitat loss and bushmeat hunting, for example, AWF’s Classroom Africa program builds new primary school facilities in return for their conservation commitment. The program brings high-quality education to some of Africa’s most remote villages, boosting student enrollment and performance, as well as teacher morale. Across our four schools in Zambia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, we enroll at least 2,500 new students every year. With two more Classroom Africa schools planned in Uganda, our conservation impact in biodiversity hotspots will continue to grow.

Over the years, biodiversity-rich landscapes with a Classroom Africa school have recorded a reduction in the unsustainable use of natural resources and land clearance. Villagers in Ilima even helped construct the Classroom Africa school deep in the indigenous forests of northern Democratic Republic of Congo, where unplanned land conversion for agriculture is shrinking wildlife habitats and the bush meat trade drives illegal hunting. Apart from boosting the enrollment rate of students — who come from five villages in a 23-kilometer radius — performance has also improved since AWF began supporting the school, with 95 percent passing their primary school exit exams marking the school’s highest rate yet.

In addition to the upgrading and rebuilding school facilities, AWF’s Classroom Africa program ensures that students receive a well-rounded education that also fosters conservation. Teachers are trained to deliver learning activities, both inside and outside the classroom, that build student awareness of their immediate environment as well as wider conservation issues. Regular field trips into the national parks and reserves that they live next to but rarely visit afford learners firsthand knowledge in the value of protecting their wildlife resources. Students from the Lupani Community School in Zambia regularly visit Victoria Falls and Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. Since Classroom Africa introduced conservation education, the students even built a greenhouse housing 1,500 indigenous tree seedlings, which will contribute to reforestation efforts around their communities.

Like top schools, the brightest schoolteachers also tend to be located in urban areas. To change the paradigm, AWF is committed to attracting star teachers by building school-adjacent teacher housing. We also offer continuing education and professional development opportunities, as well as access to technology to ensure that both teachers and students benefit from the latest tools and techniques in education.