A second chance for teenage mothers in Tanzania

From vulnerable young mothers to schooling brave young women strive to realize their educational and life goals.

Being at an inclusive and stigma-free school, young mothers schooling at Tumaini we believe that they should not be labeled as vulnerable young mothers anymore. Instead, they prefer to be regarded as brave schooling young women striving to realize their educational and life goals.

Our inclusive and stigma-free school environment ensures restoration of self-esteem and self-confidence among girls who had given up and lost hope of continuing their studies. Girls who arrived at the school in July, have overcome the feeling of rejection in a very short time. Their lives have been transformed because the Tumaini School has created an inclusive and stigma-free environment and culture in every area; school environment, policies, and practices that makes girls feel valued.

They say they are not young mothers but young women struggling to achieve their dreams. All the girls are now eager to learn, motivated, and those who will sit for the national exams in November 2023  have a sense of confidence as they continue to prepare. Abigail says, “After being at this school I feel my life being brand new. Please, do not call me a young mother but call me a brave young woman striving to realize my educational and life goals”

We have many girls like Abigail on our waiting list. They need essential school requirements such as mattresses, learning materials, and food to be enrolled at the school. Your support will help them to be brave young women.

Thank you again for your generosity. 

Links:

• Ezekiel talks about why he needed to set up Tumaini Open School

Tumaini Open School provides a warm and supportive residential learning environment for adolescent mothers. Young girls who have become pregnant - often through no fault of their own – face difficulties continuing their formal education. They were legally banned from state schools until November 2021 and remain to be one of the most disadvantaged groups in rural Tanzania.

Currently, we are building a residential block to provide safe accommodation for our students. Local surveys reported housing as a pressing need for traumatized and stigmatized mothers. We have fully installed roofing, and construction is nearly complete. Now we are fixing doors and windows, plastering floors, and integrating energy and water infrastructures. We already expect 45 students to move into the building in early July. We will reach full capacity at 50 students. Longer term, we would also like to include a more suitable kitchen area to promote nutritional eating.

We were delayed in receiving official school registration due to a shortage of on-site inspectors. Problems like this are not unusual in Tanzania and must be overcome. We were still able to provide free-of-charge teaching, and we continued entering pupils for national examinations as private candidates. However, we were unable to enroll fee-paying pupils, which would have moved us closer towards financial sustainability.

Despite the bumpy start, we continued making progress. We are involving girls’ families in their education and help them overcome stigma associated with teenage pregnancy. We are planning to prove ourselves educationally and build a record that leads to self-sufficiency. Funding at this phase will therefore be crucial.

Thank you again for your generosity and continued support. Together, we can continue to empower girls with education.