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Meru View
Meru View Day School was created by Baba Juma who lives and works at the centre located in a village called Tengeru just outside Arusha. Baba Juma saw the need for change with the accumulation of children who didn't attend the school and would spend their days unattended and bored.
The idea was to create a school where these children could gain a chance for a better future.This idea was met with support from his friends, family, and community and the result of this is a lovely three room school house where children ages three to seven year olds can come and begin their learning experience. All of the lessons and most of the instructions are taught in English. This English based curriculum was a courageous move by Baba Juma because traditionally in Tanzania English is not introduced until secondary school. Introducing these children to English earlier in their learning careers allows them a better chance to excel rather than fall behind as they progress in their education level.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Volunteers are able to spend time teaching the children English as well as coordinating play activities that help them to learn keys kills. There are opportunities to teach the Nursery Schoolchildren in the mornings and during the afternoons many kids from the village (and some adults) come to the centre to gain further education. All of this is offered free of charge, so we need volunteers to help provide this service. There are also some building/construction opportunities as well.
Recent Developments:
Volunteers spend a great deal of time teaching the children and helping those who need extra attention. They have also created sports days and competitions with other local children in the community. Along with the work they are doing in the classroom, volunteers have recently done a range of renovations at the project thanks to generous donations. The volunteers have: - Knocked down the old kitchen and rebuilt a new, properly functioning kitchen to provide good quality and healthy meals for the kids
- Cleaned and painted the playground
- Cleaned, tiled and painted the toilets to make them sanitary and usable
- Cleaned and painted parts of the existing classrooms
- Built and painted a fence around the playground
Future Plans:Volunteers are always needed for teaching and developing new programs at the school and in the local community. We are looking to build more classrooms and provide a higher level of education at the school and we would also like to create a community centre to provide services and free meals to needy children in the local area.
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Umoja was founded by two English women - Caroline Goody and Emma Wagner, (who continue to work with the charity both here and fundraising in England andAustralia). Having both spent a lot of time in Arusha, they became aware of the pressing need to provide proper training and skills to young adults who are unable to attend school - giving them a chance to support themselves in the future, instead of moving into lives of poverty or crime. The Umoja Centre was established in January 2009 and aims to provide educational mentoring and support to underprivileged youths aged between 14 and 26. The centre currently has two full time Tanzanian teachers and provides a year long training course on which students learn valuable life skills (such as health and anatomy, IT literacy and English) and gain an understanding of various career options. After this initial year Umoja work on placing the students into appropriate higher education centres - whether that is returning to high school or doing vocational training in such areas as secretarial studies, carpentry, hospitality, etc. and continue to support them wherever possible.
The program is completely free for the students and the centre is funded by international donations and sponsorships.
Why the centre is needed:
In Arusha, unemployment is extremely high, with rural people moving into the city in search of jobs in tourism and industry. Many of the industries based in Arusha, such as the mining of Tanzanite and safari tourism, employ the wealthier, more educated Tanzanians, or foreigners in preference to the rural immigrants. Unemployment accelerates poverty and increases crime. Lack of education leads to limited options in terms of employment and is often coupled with a lack of awareness of issues such as HIV/Aids. Young people inTanzania frequently lack the funding, opportunities and knowledge to change their lives for the better. Due to the lack of support, facilities for study and family constraints many children leave school either before reaching, or in the first few years of, Secondary School. Volunteer Opportunities:
The Umoja Centre warmly welcomes enthusiastic volunteers to - tutor students who have had little or no formal schooling in English - many of them can speak basic English, but lack vocabulary and conversational skills. Volunteers are needed for a few hours per day to do one on one work with groups of students to help them learn and gain confidence teach basic IT computer skills help with administrative processes at the centre, fundraise and to support the students in their studies At times there may be construction/building opportunities at the centre.
Whilst we provide support and can provide learning schemes for volunteers to follow, we highly value advice and expertise from qualified individuals. Recent Developments: - Volunteers from Ujamaa Hostel helped to renovate the centre to get it ready for the students to start classes.
- A group of students from the world-renowned JulliardSchool inNew York (staying at Ujamaa) provided an Arts Camp for the students at the centre, which culminated in a fundraising concert at a local restaurant in Arusha and was a huge success - both in terms of building the students' self-esteem and confidence and raising much needed funds for the project.
- Volunteers helped to raise money for bicycles for the students so that they can get to and from the centre. Many students have to walk more than an hour each way to attend their classes, so the bikes are a fantastic and well used resource!
- We recently raised money for more computers to be installed at the centre so that all the students can now study effectively in their computer classes.
Future Plans:
Sponsors are needed to cover the costs of the students' education as well as to pay for stationery supplies, educational resources and staff salaries. Ultimately Umoja is raising money to buy land and build a new centre. Once land has been bought volunteers will be needed to help create the new centre. |
Ujamaa Hostel proudly sponsors Jadilina (pictured below) a student from the Umoja Centre. Jadilina completed her first year of studies at the Umoja Centre and through the help of the centre she has now been accepted to return to High School and complete her Secondary Education. We will continue to support her through these studies. Congratulations Jadilina! Sponsors are needed to support many of the other students at Umoja, so please contact them if you are interested. |
Cradle of Love is a home for babies and toddlers who have been abandoned or whose parents have died. They provide 24hr care and love for up to 35 children aged 1month - 2years. Cradle of Love is intended as a short-term care facility, usually for not more than 2 years. Any relative, who is willing and able to take over care of a child after is has been weaned and able to eat solid food, will do so. Families of the babies are encouraged to visit them regularly. If there is no one to care for a child they work with the Ministry of Social Affairs to find a permanent family for the child with either a Tanzanian family or a Western family permanently living in Tanzania.
All administrative staff are volunteers. The only paid workers are the Tanzanian mamas and housekeepers who provide 24hr feeding and care for the children.
Cradle of Love was established by an American woman who lives on site with the children. It is privately funded through donations from within Tanzania as well as from around the world.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Cradle of Love currently runs extremely well. They are comfortablyfunded,though they are always in need of more supplies. The childrenlive in a very nice, spacious, clean and loving environment and areprovided with the best possible food and medical care.
Volunteers are needed to spend time with the children. The mamas and housekeepers do a wonderful job with caring for the children, but it is difficult for each child to get consistent one on one attention. Volunteers can help with feeding, play time, stories, games and changing nappies! At times they also need volunteers to help with administrative duties and building/construction projects.
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Faraja Vocational Training Centre for WomenFaraja was established in 2007 and is a training centre for young women aged 15-20yrs where they can learn viable skills to help them support themselves in the future. Many of the women have been abandoned by their families, left by their husbands or had been sold into the slave trade as a child. At the centre they are provided with a full year of training in sewing, tailoring, cookery, health & nutrition, handcrafts, embroidering, weaving, knitting and computer skills. They are also provided with accommodation and food on site for the duration of their stay. The cost of this program per girl is the equivalent of US$500 for their education, food and accommodation for the year. Some of the girls are sponsored by international organisations such as 'Compassion', others are in need of help. The school currently has more than 6 girls there who are unable to pay their fees, but they do not wish to turn these girls away, so they cover their costs as best they can. Each year Faraja has capacity to educate 33 young women.
Some of the young women are mothers and they are able to stay at the centre with their children as well. At this point, these girls take their children to classes with them, which does not allow them to learn effectively.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Teaching computer skills or English as well as taking care of the children of the students so that the women can go to their classes and learn effectively. We could also use volunteers who have some level of skill in sewing, tailoring, cookery or health. The centre would greatly appreciate anyone with any particular skills to run short programs (4-8 weeks) to further develop the girls' skills. The Faraja centre currently runs very well. They have full time teachers, a social worker, a manager and other support staff. They are dedicated to the development of their young girls and provide a wonderful program.
They need help to find more teachers and to continue to give the girls abroad range of skills to take out into the world. They need funding to develop the living quarters, expand the number of students they can take in and also to provide help to the girls once they leave the school in the form of small loans, job applications etc.
Recent Developments: - Volunteers set up a Computer Classroom and have developed a syllabus to teach the women to use computers. This program will continue throughout the year.
- We're in the process of developing a small day care room for the children.
Future Plans:
For reasons of hygiene, the girls are all required to bring their own blankets, sheets, mattress and pillow. The girls are also required to supply their own stationary materials which can be quite expensive, so we would like to develop a funding program where each new girl at the school is provided with their uniform, shoes, stationary, scissors, measuring tape, apron, blanket, mattress, pillow, sheets, plate, spoons and mug free of charge. These items will also help the girls set themselves up out in the world when the leave the centre at the conclusion of their course.
We would like to develop a program to help the girls when they leave the centre. Some of the girls find work very quickly, but also need help finding accommodation etc and living on their own. Other girls have created small co-ops and endeavour to build their own business, many of which have been successful. However for this they need access to small business loans to get started. There are many opportunities with this program and we are looking for advice on how to develop it effectively. We would also like to expand the classrooms and living space for the girls so that the program can grow to allow more girls in.
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Tumaini for Africa Foundation is dedicated to rescuing the vulnerable, deprived and disadvantaged children of its community. The foundation provides for Tanzanian children by securing resources for education and shelter to meet the children's basic needs. The vision of the organization is to create a community of well disciplined, independent, confident, hard working people with wide knowledge to cope with the challenges of modern society. The mission of the African foundation is to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged and needy children by providing education and support to children and their families. The hope of the foundation is to give the children of Africa a sense of belonging and community, bridging the social gap between these children and children brought up in traditional family settings. By doing so, the Tumaini village hopes to encourage these children to take an active responsibility for their future. Volunteer Opportunities: Volunteers are able to spend time teaching the children English as well as coordinating play activities that help them to learn keyskills. There are also opportunities to build and develop the project.
Recent Developments:
- Volunteers built and painted the playground
- Volunteers built a tree-house for the kids
- Volunteers bought chicks so that the children have access to eggs and so the project can make some money from the sale of the chickens.
- Volunteers cleaned and painted parts of the existing classrooms and houses.
- Volunteers helped to clear and create a football pitch for the children.
Future Plans:
Volunteers are always needed for teaching and developing new programs at the school and the orphanage.
At this time two of the houses are unfinished and require painting and furnishing. There are also plans to build more houses. The Classroom and playground also need further development.
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