Dar es Salaam. TotalEnergies Marketing Tanzania Limited has installed a gas-powered kitchen and improved road safety infrastructure at Buguruni Viziwi Primary School, supporting cleaner cooking and safer access for pupils with hearing disabilities.
The improvements were handed over yesterday after the school emerged the national winner of the 2025 VIA Programme, a road safety initiative implemented by TotalEnergies in partnership with TotalEnergies Foundation and Nafasi Art Space.
The new kitchen replaces the school’s previous reliance on firewood, which teachers said affected the efficiency of food preparation and practical cooking lessons for its 264 pupils.
Assistant Headteacher Richard Kweka said the new facility had improved both activities.
“Having this gas kitchen will increase efficiency in practical cooking lessons. Previously, we used firewood, but now 60 litres of water can boil in about 45 minutes,” he said.
The project also supports the Government’s Clean Cooking Energy Strategy, which targets 80 percent of Tanzanians using clean cooking energy by 2034.
TotalEnergies Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs Getrude Mpangile said the improvements were based on recommendations made by pupils through the VIA Programme.
“We are here to celebrate their contribution to improving road safety and hand over improvements based on their own recommendations,” she said.
The company also installed road safety signs and markings around the school and a wall mural carrying safety messages in sign language.
Kweka said the measures had helped address safety concerns around the school, where inadequate signage had exposed pupils to risks.
He recalled an incident last year in which a pupil was knocked down by a motorcycle and lost two teeth.
“The VIA competition has helped us get safety signs that have helped reduce motorists’ speed near the school gate,” he said.
He called for a speed hump near the school to further control motorists’ speed.
Buguruni Ward Education Officer Ayoub Twahil said the gas kitchen would reduce the school’s dependence on polluting cooking fuels while giving pupils an opportunity to develop practical cooking skills.
