COVID-19 Update & Response
Like many countries in the world, Tanzania has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many people to adapt their lifestyles in order to fight against the virus. Tanzania’s first confirmed Coronavirus case was in March 2020 which forced many parts of society to close, including schools which closed on 17th March. While people in the UK can work from home, this is not an option for many Tanzanians who have informal sector jobs, meaning they have to go out to earn their living. The Tanzanian government spread awareness of the virus and emphasised measures people can take to protect themselves, such as regular hand washing and face masks.
We spoke to Hussein (our colleague in Tanzania) to better understand how COVID-19 has affected the communities we work in and what Made With Hope and CHETI NGO have been doing on-the-ground to help.
How have our communities been affected?
Made With Hope and CHETI NGO partner with 5 schools in rural Arusha which have all been closed. This meant that students were not receiving any support from us and some of our projects have been postponed to a later date, delaying support even further.
“We started to run our Girls Empowerment project to support young girls with menstrual hygiene management (MHM) education and providing the reusable products. Since schools closed, we could not provide anything to these poor girls as we had to pause all programs.”
What have Made With Hope and CHETI NGO been doing on the ground to help?
1. Handwashing facilities
One project aimed to protect community members against Coronavirus by encouraging regular hand washing. In May, CHETI NGO distributed handwashing facilities to the community members living around CHETI schools and spoke to people about the ways to protect themselves and prevent the spread of the virus.
2. Food packages
Zuma, CHETI Director, handing over food packages
The closure of schools has had a negative impact on the teachers. As CHETI schools are private*, their workers’ salaries are dependent on external income. CHETI runs 7 schools in Arusha (we partner with 2) which have all been closed due to the pandemic. This has meant, like many other schools in Tanzania, they have faced a significant financial challenge of not being able to pay all their workers salaries for three months. Many of the teachers struggled with buying basic necessities, including food.
So in June, Made With Hope teamed up with CHETI to provide food packages to the teachers, many of whom are widows, mothers, and fathers. This has helped support them during this difficult time, and we hope it has taken one less worry away.
*This is a very different concept in Tanzania compared to the UK - CHETI students are still from poor backgrounds and are often sponsored or some families contribute a small fee. Read one of our blog posts which explains this in more detail.
Here are some pictures of the creation and distribution of food packages to CHETI workers in Arusha, Tanzania!
It has been a very challenging time for many of us, and we are thankful for our lovely supporters who continue to donate to Made With Hope, allowing us to run crucial projects like this. As we are a small charity, any donation you make truly makes a difference. Thank you!
By Jessica Pace
Project Assistant volunteer