Our partners NIA ( Ndoto in Action) launched the pilot of our new girl’s sponsorship programme. The aim of this project works towards Made with Hope's goal as a charity of increasing access to education for students in rural Tanzania. Made with Hope and NIA are passionate about empowering girls and ensuring girls have equal and inclusive access to education and opportunities despite the barriers they face. When we empower girls through education we can transform their communities and pass on the benefits to their children and to their children’s children. Education is key to escaping poverty and increasing a child's opportunities in life. For this purpose, we piloted the new girl’s sponsorship programme. The pilot project involved 5 female students from Marurani primary school and 5 female students from Mzimuni Primary school.

Lots of students at Marurani and Mzimuni can't afford school uniform and basic stationery.

Most of the pupils who attend Marurani and Mzimuni Primary school are coming from families with very low incomes who are not able to provide their children with the basic uniform and equipment needed to attend school. These students then attend school in no uniforms, barefoot, and with little or no stationery to make notes.

Some students even end up missing school since they have to go and work so that they can earn some money to cover the cost of school uniforms, stationery supplies and food.

Students can end up having to wear dirty uniforms to school as they can only afford one set. Students were also turning up to school hungry because their families struggle to afford food. Being hungry prevents children from being able to concentrate and learn. Being comfortable, clean and prepared for school is very important in creating an effective and optimal learning environment. No child should have to miss out on their education just because they are worrying about affording clothing, stationery and food.

Pupils were selected to receive a package of home and school supplies

The NIA Team worked closely with Marurani and Mzimuni schools to identify pupils who are in desperate need by taking into consideration their background and home situation. The teachers, who know the students best, advised NIA on their home life. After the recommendation from teachers, the NIA team and teachers visited the pupils' homes so as to understand their unique needs and the challenges they faced in their home. This led to the selection of 10 pupils from the partner schools who formed part of the pilot project.

Once the NIA Team identified different needs of the 10 students, they then worked to identify suppliers in the local community who could provide the items.

Items that the girls received in their sponsorship packages:

School uniform.
Socks
Pairs of black shoes.
Sweaters.
Stationery (Exercise books, pencils, pens).
Food packages for the household
Toiletries
Back pack

These items were identified as vital in enabling girls to attend school and access the education they deserve.

Supplies were distributed to the students

The supplies were distributed to the targeted students in different phases as follows;

Phase 1: NIA Team and partner schools invited the parents and guardians of the beneficiaries to the schools for the handover of the supplies to the beneficiaries. Parents/ guardians were urged to take good care of the supplies and guide the pupils on the proper use of the supplies to make it last longer.

Phase 2: Pupils took photos in their new uniforms, shoes, and bags

Phase 3: NIA team delivered food packages to the beneficiaries’ homes: This has been a very good feeling for all families as they usually can not afford three meals a day which leads these students to go to school every day without eating and fail to concentrate while in the

We want to introduce a few of the students in the pilot study:

Jenny

Jenny is in standard one at Mzimuni primary school. She is six years old. When she was 2 months old, her father was involved in a fatal accident. Jenny has two brothers and one young sister. They all live with their mother who is 37 years old. They don’t have their own house, and their mother couldn’t afford to pay house rent. They live in a non-ventilated farmhouse that has only one bedroom. They do not have a bed so they have put a small mattress on the floor to sleep. They were allowed to stay temporarily under the auspices of the mosque so anytime they can be asked to move out of the house when the owner wants to use it.

Jenny and her family usually do not get enough nutritious food to meet their basic needs. They often starve, and when their mother manages to get maize flour, she prepares porridge as their food. This condition has led to malnutrition. This family desperately needs support for education for children to prepare them for a better future.

Olivia

Olivia is seven years old. She is in standard two at Marurani primary school. Olivia’s father left before she was born, and now Olivia lives with her grandmother who relies on working on people’s houses and farms so that she can take care of her grandchildren. Olivia’s grandma owns just a quarter hectare of land. They live in a small mud house and eat only when food is available.

They need food, and school supplies to support Olivia to get quality education that will help her to break a circle of poverty.

Mary

Mary is 11 years old. She is in standard six at Mzimuni primary school. When she was at a young age, her father divorced her mother due to family conflicts, but he used to provide for them. After a few years, Mary’s father was involved in a car accident and passed away. Her mother is not financially able to provide for her children.

Mary is now living with her sister who is 25 years old in a rented house that costs less than 5 USD per month. Her sister earns less than 2 USD per day by selling vegetables in the streets.

Mary needs school support (stationery and uniforms), food, and health care.

We hope to run the project full scale after the positive impact we have seen from the pilot project.

Thankyou for reading,

Written by Eve Stanislawski

The Launch of our Pilot Project: Girl’s Sponsorship Programme