Increase Girls' Access to Education in Tanzania

Dear Girls Ed Supporters,

There is no denying 2020 has been quite the year! The world has been knocked off its feet by the pandemic, which has had devastating impacts on economies, healthcare and education globally. Not surprisingly, schools around the world closed for varying amounts of time in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of these closures can be particularly significant for girls. Girls in underserved communities often lack access to the technological resources required to engage in remote learning. In addition, girls who leave school for extended periods of time may not return because they have assumed more responsibilities around the home, have married, or have become pregnant.

In Tanzania, schools were closed from March through June, but opened again in July. One bright spot for us is that all of the girls in our scholarship program did return to school. They remained steadfast in their pursuit of educational and career goals. 

One of our greatest highlights for 2020 is that we are celebrating the first university student from among our scholarship recipients! Edasta completed high school this year. She performed well on her national exams and applied to two university programs. She was accepted and is reporting to her university this month! Please join us in congratulating her and wishing her all the success possible in her studies. Our friend and super supporter, Shelmina of Seattle, WA offered to cover Edasta’s university tuition. #GratitudeOverload

In her note of gratitude to Shelmina, Edasta wrote, “My promise to you is that from my heart, I will be studying hard so that to reach my dreams. Then after accomplishing my studies I will find the work from any company so that my dream will become true of helping my family from poor life to better life with all society.” Many students in our program pursue their education with the stated goals of improving their society and supporting their families – embodying the community spirit of Tanzania.

In other exciting news, Rabia completed her studies at the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) in Kigoma. She was awarded a certificate of completion in Design Sewing and Clothing Technology (see attached). Now she has her sights set on opening her own tailoring business so that she, too, can support herself and her family. Shout out to our friend Hilary who paid for Rabia's training program.

A cohort of our students completed a teacher education program and all seven of them were hired as teachers at various nursery and primary schools. All of their jobs were put on hold during the school closures, but they are back to work now. Recently, we learned of an unfortunate experience endured by one of these young women -- but never fear; it has a positive outcome.

Skola was hired as a teacher at a private school and was enjoying her work with the young learners. Unfortunately, she was recently harassed by a male teacher at her school who was inappropriately asking for sexual favors. She tapped into her power and refused. As a result, she lost her job. We honor her strength and recognize the challenge she likely faced when enacting her agency and walking away from a job that meant so much to her and her family. We are, however, very happy to share that she has already been hired by another school in Kigoma town. Our in-country partners at Project Wezesha are writing a letter to the owner of this school to shine a light on the behaviors of this teacher in the hopes of promoting policy enforcement so that future women teachers at this school, and other schools, will not be put in this compromising position.

Another one of these young teachers was married and became pregnant during the time when her school was closed. However, as we all know -- marriage and motherhood are not tradeoffs for employment. Lois is happy to be able to start a family. She is taking the generous six months of leave time that Tanzanian women are afforded after having a baby. Her school is holding her position for her and she will return to work after maternity leave. Her baby will be blessed with a motivated, educated mother with expertise in early childhood education!

We continue the work we do because reports continue to affirm the importance of educating girls in overcoming poverty. In fact, investing in girls’ education through high school could increase the GDP of countries by 10%. Ying Qin, an analyst with Citi Global Insights says, "Investing in the development of girls is not only the right thing to do, but it's a key contributor to growth, delivering unparalleled impacts and returns across societies, and that multiplier effect should not be underestimated." We’re proud of our indirect investment in Tanzania through the support we’re able to provide to girls in remote and underserved regions of the country.

Of course, we cannot do our work without your support. Our projected budget for operating costs in 2021 is $15,000. This includes the costs of high school, diploma programs, and vocational training for the girls who continue studies through the year, with the anticipation of several of our Form 6 girls joining university next fall. We are running an ambitious campaign through this season of giving to raise this money by the end of the year, but we have a long way to go. Please share our work with your network and invite them to make a contribution today. You can donate by clicking the Give Now button below.

Stay tuned for updates on our campaign and more information about the girls’ successes in the coming weeks as we move into what we hope to be a bright new year!

With Gratitude,

The Girls Ed Team

Links:

• Girls Ed Website