The laboratory was built by the Katoke Trust for Overseas Aid, and the computer network, along with a three-year training program for staff, students and the community, was funded with a $170,000 donation by the Archbishop of Sydney, Anglican Aid scheme. Construction and operation of Katoke-Lweru School is the major project of the Katoke Trust.

For nearly a century the Katoke area has been an educational centre for the Kagera region, providing primary and tertiary training to thousands of people who have made a major contribution to Tanzanian life. Katoke-Lweru Secondary School, built by the Trust, was planned to continue this tradition of inspiring education.

The school is owned by the Anglican Diocese of Lweru and has 320 day and boarding students in Forms 1 to 3, with plans to extend studies to Form 6. Exam results so far have delighted staff and sudents, with excellent marks in its first national Form 2 examination when students were placed fifth out of 39 schools in the district. Katoke-Lweru School has a strong physical presence also, with its distinctive blue roofs visible from the Bukoba-Mwanza Road.

The vision was to build a “Lighthouse School” to strengthen education in the region by organising international partnerships which provide educational expertise from universities and schools in Australia and other countries. Visiting academics regularly conduct workshops and seminars for teachers and administrators, at the school and also at the adjacent Katoke Teachers College, in key subjects such as Mathematics, Science and English.

Regional Commissioner Babu has been very encouraging throughout the development of the school and he has taken a close interest in its promotion of excellence, which is the school’s aim. This is emphasised by the school’s motto, “Strive for the goal,” from the New Testament letter of Paul to the Philippians.