Send 35 Girls in Tanzania to Secondary School

Happy Holidays from all of us at Girls Education International!

We hope that wherever you are and whatever holidays you celebrate that you are surrounded with family, friends, furkids, laughter and lots of love. We'd like to share a few updates!

Grateful for Kate!

We're so excited because right now we have a volunteer working on site with us in Tanzania. American teacher Kate Schelbe first contacted us last April about the possibility of volunteering. Upon agreeing to a six month commitment Kate started fundraising to cover her expenses. Kate's network of friends and family generously came together to support her.

Kate now lives in Mgaraganza Village and teaches at Amahoro Secondary School.  Seeing the needs of the school first hand inspired Kate to donate a portion of the donations she received to Girls Ed and Project Wezesha to fund the December study camp.

This generous donation will pay for our students to attend the third 30-day academic study camp, beginning in the second week of December.  It will cover the cost of food, accommodations, examination fees, teachers' salaries, and all other expenses associated with the camp. #SoGrateful

Kate would like to thank all of the people who have supported her financially.  In particular, she wants to highlight the contributions of Liz Parker of Wilson, Wyoming. Liz and Kate are friends who share the love of the outdoors and mountains. They believe in the importance of education in all settings.

Liz's generosity is appreciated and her support of education in rural Tanzania is impactful. Her charitable donations made it possible for Kate to extend her donations to Girls Ed and Project Wezesha. Thank you to all involved in this inspiring story. 

The Non-Monetary Gains of Having a Volunteer

In addition to Kate's generous donation, we are extremely grateful for Kate's time and expertise. Having Kate around has been so rewarding in many ways. She created an interview protocol to use with parents so that we can collect data on the impact of our programs not only on the girls, but on their families and communities. On a regular basis, Lucas, Madaga and Kate have been visiting all the families of our students. (See photos of Kate and the team visiting families.)

The team has been conducting interviews, taking photos, and making videos. This information helps us to identify areas upon which we can improve or expand. It also gives us a sense of what's working well. As an example, we'd like to share the story of one student below.

Let's Learn about Bernadette

Tanzanians put a lot of emphasis on students' class rank. This has not always been a good thing for Bernadette. In the past she was ranked 25. However, after attending our study camp, Bernadette is now ranked 10th.

Bernadette is a 16-year-old Form 3 student.  During a recent home visit, she reported that the improvement in her ranking feels good and that she wants to continue to grow academically. She attributes her success to the study camp and the impacts it had on her time management skills.

There are many challenges in Bernadette's life.  She regularly gets severe headaches, her school does not have science teachers, and her family does not have electricity, consequently there are no lights for her to study by at night.  Despite these hardships, Bernadette is optimistic about her future.

Bernadette's father reported that he gives his blessing for any career path Bernadette chooses. But one thing is certain; he wants his daughter to continue to pursue education. Bernadette has high hopes for herself. After seeing her mother suffer off and on with various illnesses, Bernadette wants to become a doctor to help people in the same circumstance. The road to becoming a doctor is long and hard, but it is clear that Bernadette is resilient and determined.

Bernadette is sponsored by Girls Education International.  It is through this sponsorship that she is able to attend the month-long study camp. The 30-day intensive academic program will help foster her intellectual curiosity.  Bernadette's continued participation with Girls Ed and Project Wezesha provides her with a peer group of dedicated learners. The positive peer pressure in this group propels each of the students one step closer to their dream.  Please help keep Bernadette's dreams alive.

End of Year Giving

Please consider making an end of year contribution to Girls Ed so that we can start saving for our June study camp. All donations are tax-deductible and GlobalGiving makes it easy to keep track of your contribution by sending you an immediate email tax reciept.

As you know, the holidys are a critical time for nonprofit organizations to garner support for the coming year. We can't stress enough that we cannot continue this work without you. Please share with friends, consider hosting your own fundraiser, or reach out to us and let's see how we can work together to keep the dream alive! We also love sustaining supporters, so if think you could make an ongoing commitment of $5 or $10 or other amount per month, that will go a long way to supporting our girls.

Join us on Facebook where we try to share stories, updates, research and entertainment related to girls education, empowering women, sheroes, and other related topics.

Thank you! Asante sana!

With gratitude,

Rai Farrelly
Contact us: info@girlsed.org
Website: www.girlsed.org