BUKOBA, Aug. 28 -- ON a sunny morning in Bukoba – a small city which Professor Anna Tibaijuka once called it ‘Rio de Janeiro of Africa, children with satchels slung across their shoulders race toward Kiteyagwe Primary School.

Their laughter carries across the valley, mingling with the rushing sound of a seasonal stream below.

What was once a treacherous crossing—where slippery stones and sudden floods often stood between pupils and their classrooms—has been transformed into a sturdy pedestrian bridge, built by local beneficiaries of the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF).

This modest span, worth just 3.4m/-, is more than concrete and iron bars.

It is a lifeline. Parents speak of their relief, teachers of impro...