Recently Alison (Board of Directors) was fortunate to speak to the grade 7 and 8 classes at St. Peter elementary school in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. I explained how education is different in Tanzania and Canada and asked them to think about their own lives...

If this was the last year of school they would ever have (which is usually the case in Tanzania), would they be able to achieve their goals of becoming doctors, lawyers, and mechanical engineers?   For the girls in the audience, what if their brothers got to go on in school and they didn't?  For all of them, how well would they perform at school if they never had breakfast before they arrived each day? 

It really made the kids think.  They were so touched that they have pledged to raise money at a fundraiser this June to donate to GHTA.  We truly thank them for getting involved and wanting to help our organization!

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Good luck to our new students

GHTA's new semester started on April 2nd when 40 women and men embarked on a new adventure.  Four more businesses are in the process of being implemented over the next month.  We are sending a huge thank you to Victoria, our volunteer manager, for doing such a great job of taking care of our school, women's co-op and other businesses.  And we want to express our sincere thanks to our international volunteers and Tanzanian teachers who recruited and interviewed new students, who spent many hours observing our women's businesses, offering them invaluable advice... Thank you everybody for giving our students a chance at a better life.

An Experience of a Lifetime - GHTA

Hello Give A Heart To Africa Supporters,

Our names are Shauna and Pat. We’re from New York City and we’re wrapping up two plus months of volunteering at this most special place - GHTA. Today was our last day of classes and as anywhere else on the last day of classes - not much technical learning took place. After yet another beautiful speech by our mother hen Victoria, the students put on display after display of love for the school. Traditional songs were sung, speeches of appreciation were orated, and comedy acts were performed. Many students called out Tina (our good friend and volunteer from London) in particular to thank her, as she will be missing graduation by a day. The entire morning was extremely moving, and Shauna never had a dry eye. You get this kind of emotion quite a lot during your time at GHTA. The goal of GHTA, of course, is to educate extremely poor women for whom secondary education is completely out of reach. Most people in Tanzania go to school through the government until Standard 7, or 7^th grade. Most simply stop after that, and try to carve out a life however they can. Women are especially handicapped by the system, as many of the available jobs are just not open to them. With much of the money given by volunteers and donations, GHTA tries to take some of the neediest and provide them with solid English, business, and computer skills. Each class lasts six months, broken up into two three-month semesters. The demand is incredible. From simply posting fliers around town, there were two hundred applicants for the forty-four available slots in the incoming class. The enthusiasm and sense of hope in each and every one of the applicants was inspiring. Life for our students is hard. It’s very hard. Many live in tiny rooms or mud huts without any running water, electricity, or any kind of proper sanitation. Some travel as far as two hours to make it to class by 9am (8am if they need or want extra help). Life is just different here, yet each and every one of them is so grateful for the opportunity GHTA provides them. They are so friendly and upbeat. It is safe to say we’re learning just as much about the world from them as the business/English/computer skills they are learning from us.

Our typical week looked like this: Monday through Thursday we’re taught two classes a day from 9am-12pm. Shauna taught business (with Victoria, who runs GHTA while Monika is in Canada) while Pat taught computer. Three other volunteers, Alex from NJ/NC, Tina from London, and Charlotte from Canada taught English (we loved them all – everyone associated with GHTA has been lovely). Each class has a Tanzanian translator as well. They are all former students, and they are both indispensable and our friends. Shauna worked with Herman, and Pat with Rahim. On Monday and Thursday GHTA has a daycare for the neighborhood children (or any other children that make it). Shauna is especially fond of Messe (pronounced like the soccer star), an adorable five-year-old who lives around the corner. On Tuesday and Wednesday we provide extra help after class. We also provide an hour of extra help each morning if requested. On Friday and sometimes Saturday we conduct, on average, two home visits. These are important, as they’re the only way to get to know each student on a more personal level. These encounters are enlightening for both teacher and student. Since arriving we have been to ten homes. It’s is a big honor for the students, and they usually go above and beyond their means and cook us rice or beans with chapatti and bottled water. Many times whatever family they have will be on hand to support the student and thank us for taking her (or him) into GHTA. We bring them gifts as well, as is custom, including sugar, tea, bread - things like that. The visits are the only way to really get to know each student on a more intimate basis. We ask them or their family all sorts of questions. Are they happy at GHTA? Who are their friends at GHTA, will they maintain those friendships? What is their favorite class? What do they want to do after GHTA - do they have a plan? Are their family members proud of their daughter/wife/etc for going back to school? We also ask about their personal lives. Who lives with them in the home? Do they have water/electricity? We want to get an overall picture of how that person lives and how they are getting on at GHTA. Each visit varies greatly. Some are in utter slums while others are in the country on “farms”. Either way, the home visits are an essential part of the organization. Most students blossom since they are not in front of their peers and therefore not afraid to say something embarrassing. They also seem to understand that GHTA truly cares about them and their future. They are always extremely grateful for the opportunities GHTA gives them, and the fact that the volunteers take their Friday’s and Saturday’s to travel sometimes two hours each way just to see them seems unfathomable. We have become much closer (post-visit) to each and every student we’ve visited thus far.

GHTA is in Moshi, Tanzania. Moshi sits directly below Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest point and the world’s tallest “free standing” mountain, whatever that means. It is basically a huge extinct volcano, and it’s pretty awesome to wake up each morning next to it. We’re in the north of the country, close to the border of Kenya. We’re in the middle of the country, being eight hours east of Africa’s biggest lake (Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile River), which is the border for Uganda, and five hours west of the Indian Ocean coast. Being so close to “Kili”, we are higher in elevation than a lot of the country, and that helps with the heat and humidity. We’re not far from the equator, and you can guess what that means for the temperature. It is horrible when the sun is hitting you directly, but in the shade it is pleasant, and sleeping is not a problem (thank God). Because Moshi is the jumping off point for any climb up Kili, it sees its fair share of wazungu (white people). It works out well for us, since there are good places to eat and some nice hotels where we can pay a small fee and use their pools all afternoon. Downtown is lively and pleasantly surprising. There is even a new “supermarket” that has filtered ice and air conditioning! We spend quite a bit of time “shopping” there (i.e. walking around aimlessly). Our house (which is also where the school is) is luxurious, we now realize, compared to most places around town. We have running water and electricity (most of the time). That means we have flushing toilets and showers, we have ceiling fans and a refrigerator, and we have light at night. Our rooms are nice. We get dinner cooked for us each night by Margaret, a very nice Tanzanian woman who gives rather generous portions, thereby giving us free lunch many afternoons the following day. All of this is included in the money we gave up front, so it is plausible for us to live on next to nothing (side trips aside) until our time is up. Pat is the lone male in the house, but he is fairly used to this role from living with only his sisters and mother for a few years. There are times when the estrogen levels are high and he had to plug his ears or simply walk away, but mostly everyone is cool and it was of little concern.  

The only downside to our experience was when we were robbed. We are a small NGO, and everyone knows about us. Everyone knew we offered computer class. We believe the crime was purely opportunistic. They took fourteen computers (including two personal computers from Alex and Victoria), five cameras (including ours), five ipods (including ours), four mobiles, and about $500 in cash. At first we were extremely down, but we realized this was an act of desperation. A vast majority of Tanzanians are terribly poor. In the end we really didn't lose much; a camera and an ipod and some cash. All of that is replaceable. The worst part about the whole thing is that obviously our computer class cannot function. The GHTA board is currently deciding what to do, and it could be discontinued indefinitely. This has never happened in the past and the house is in an area that is generally considered very safe. GHTA took immediate action and hired a professional security company. We do not feel threatened or unsafe whatsoever, but feel we should mention the robbery for complete transparency.

Although we're more or less done with our teaching responsibilities, we're more than satisfied with our time at GHTA. As I said it’s fair to say we have learned just as much from them (if not more) as they have from us. We have made real connections, and that will not soon be lost. The most important part of GHTA is the opportunities it provides its students. After all GHTA would be for naught if it didn't help improve at least some of their lives. GHTA runs a co-op in town where promising students get the opportunity to start their own business in whatever they come up with. A solid business plan has to be approved by the board (including Victoria, Monika the founder, and others) before a green light is given. In the co-op currently there is a women's clothing store, a shoe business, a hand bag business, and a children's clothing store. GHTA also helped start a coffee business for two former students who are now flourishing, selling beans and ground coffee in many of the shops around town. There is a seamstress in town who is benefiting from GHTA, as well as several other students who have put in the leg work and now have their own businesses. Besides all of these success stories, every student who walks through the GHTA door gains something. GHTA pays for medical treatment for active students. GHTA pays for glasses for those who need them. These things, besides the totally free education they are receiving (including the notebooks, pencils, etc - everything necessary to learn), is a major boost to their quality of life. On another level, many of the students simply gain confidence in coming to school and being part of something bigger. GHTA is making a monumental difference in its small way, and we are beyond proud to have been a part of its family. We hope to continue being part of its family moving forward, and encourage anyone reading this to come and see it for them self. You will not be disappointed.

With that we would like to say thank you to Monika for being a crusader, Victoria for being our mother hen and taking such good care of GHTA, and our fellow volunteers who made our experience so special. We cannot really say enough about GHTA or correctly elaborate its effect on us, so we will leave it at that.

All the best and very sincerely,

Shauna and Pat Kauth

GHTA Fundraiser a great success!!!!

Give a Heart to Africa held its first fundraiser at the Royal Canadian Legion in Toronto on November 22, 2011. The fundraiser had two main objectives. Firstly, we needed to reach out to the community and educate them about our organization and seek potential sponsors for our students. Secondly, by raising funds we would be able to assist some of our students with their businesses and continue our work in Moshi, Tanzania.

During the evening, a video of some of our students describing life in Moshi and how some of them have improved their lives by being in our school was shown to the attendees. There was a table which had items for a silent auction, these were generously donated by sponsors from around the community. We also had a 50/50 draw which made people excited about the possibility of winning some money to spend prior to Christmas. There were also tables with food for everyone to eat and drink, this too was donated. We also had laptops showing videos of some of our current students who were thanking sponsors for their interest in them and GHTA.

All in all, close to 100 people attended and we were able to raise $3,364. These funds have been earmarked to assist two students start up their business and also a portion of the rest of the money is going to help pay for the rent of our co-op for the following year. It was great to be able to put the word out there about our organization and involve so many people. We were very lucky to have so many volunteers who helped from decorating the hall, to selling tickets and various other duties. The commitment of everyone helping together towards the project made the evening the success it was. Thank you to all that sponsored us and to those who also attended the function, we could not have made it without you!!!

See you again next year!!!

Ave

GHTA Charity Event

Give a Heart To Africa would like to invite you its Charity Event, held on November 22nd, at 7pm, at the Royal Canadian Legion, 72 Durie Street in Toronto.
It will be an evening filled with videos, photos and stories about Tanzania and GHTA's students and businesses, food, drinks, music and many prizes.
Should you wish to attend and/or get more information, please, contact us at info@giveahearttoafrica.org
Thank you so much in advance for your support
Monika

Home Visits with Fausta and Erica

Usually volunteers visit a couple students' homes every Friday. The point of the home visits is to learn more about the students' lives outside of school, and to see who needs the most help. This Friday we visited two students, Fausta and Erica.

The first visit was to Fausta. After a 30 minute walk into town, a 30 minute dala dala ride (a local bus where 30 people are crammed into about 15 seats) and a 30 minute walk from the dala dala stop into her village, we arrived at her house. She lives in a room in a building with about 8 rooms all attached to a central walkway, sharing that room with her husband, and 3 of her 5 children. The other 2 live in a room across the hall. Upon entering the room, I was very impressed with how prettily it was decorated. There was a bed, three couches and a couple chairs against the wall, along with a coffee table and some storage space. No washroom, but there was electricity. Fausta obviously took great pride in her home and was very excited to have us there. Tanzanians are quite hospitable and she had prepared a huge thermos of chai tea and bowls of roasted peanuts for us. We had brought our translator Herman with us and with his help we discussed how she was liking school, and what her goals for the future were. She explained that she wanted to expand her peanut business and also start to sell clothing. Her children popped in throughout our conversation and even her husband joined us. We had attracted a lot of attention during the walk through her village and apparently the news had spread to him that he had visitors, so he left work to come and join us. It was a lovely visit with a lovely women (constantly smiling, hugging us, and thanking us for coming), and a nice way to ease into the home visits.

Erica's house was close by so we were able to walk after saying goodbye to Fausta. Her living conditions were a stark contrast to Fausta's. She lives in a small dark room with a metal roof without any electricity. Erica lives with her Uncle and cousins so that she can get to school more easily (even so it is a 2 hour journey to school every day). Her son Victor stays in another village with her other family members. Once we had settled in, Erica started crying as she explained that she had nothing to offer us to eat or drink. We tried to console her and explain that we had come to see and talk to her, and that nothing else mattered. It was heartbreaking to see how upset she was. She said that once she graduates she would like to embroider fabric.

I was astonished at how much effort the students have to put in to get to school every day (and I know that some of the other students have it much worse). It is amazing that they are able to balance their studies with all of their other responsibilities. I also don't know how Monika will pick who gets to start their businesses at the co-op (every term a couple students get the start up capital from GHTA and run their businesses out of the organization's space in town). So many of them of try so hard, and it's very difficult to see all of the challenges they have simply because of the position they were born into.