Hundreds of students, parents, teachers, and local residents from Ziwani Village in Tanzania attended a dedication ceremony June 10, 2009 to celebrate the re-opening of the Ziwani Primary School following renovations to seven primary school classrooms and a nursery school classroom. The $178,000 renovation project, funded by Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), in coordination with the Tanzanian government and the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, also included rehabilitation of the teachers' bathroom. More than 500 students from the Ziwani Village will benefit from the refurbished school, according to printed materials provided at the dedication. The school, which teaches geography, general science, math, history, civics, Kiswahali, English and general recreation year-round, also prepares both boys and girls for secondary school. "It's a joint project between the United States government and the government of Tanzania," said U.S. Navy Captain Mark Sparling, a guest speaker from CJTF-HOA. "The United States provided the funding for the work, and Tanzanians provided the labor to make the work happen." "We believe that the improvements will help them focus on the learning process instead of having concerns with the facilities which they are in. And so, we believe that this will help them to facilitate learning, which will contribute to a more stable and prosperous Tanzania." Tuli Mushingi, Ph.D., Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Dar Es Salam, reflected on the event's relation to his own life. "Before moving to the U.S., I was born in Africa. So it's nice to see us Americans contributing to the education of these Tanzanians," said Mashingi. "It is nice to see that we have done something, although it is small; for the village it is a very big project." Author's note: CJTF-HOA, a component of U.S. Africa Command, works hand-in-hand with local government officials to help communities in 13 countries throughout the Horn of Africa. The mission of the task force is one of promoting regional stability through defense, diplomacy and development; a 3-D concept intended to counter violent extremism through increased stability.