August, 2008
We are pleased to announce our new project, Cheju Wisdom Center, located on the beautiful island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, East Africa.
Cheju Wisdom Center, founded in 1999, is a project we are excited about and one which also inspires us. The people of Zanzibar face poverty, hunger, a lack of quality health care, gender inequity, and a lack of access to education.
The Cheju Wisdom Center hopes to change lives by educating their students in their government’s curriculum, especially in English and mathematics, to enable them to move into quality secondary schools or vocational training. The Center has been very successful as 98% of the 520 students that have passed through its doors have gone forward with their education and toward a better life. For The Cheju Wisdom Center to continue to be successful in helping these very deserving students, they need our help!
In addition to their studies and extracurricular activities, students work in the large garden providing food for school meals.
Serving disadvantaged students: Although it costs about $600.00-$900.00 per year to educate and board students, The Cheju Wisdom Center asks families to pay only $430.00. If families cannot pay, sponsors are found. Or in exchange for tuition, families can offer food or volunteer their time and labor to work on building projects.
The most urgent needs for the school include:
- Lab equipment and chemicals
- Books
- Computers
- Building projects
- Sponsorship for 10 students
Volunteers Meg and Andy Mitchell, Chicago, IL raised funds and traveled to Tanzania in July, 2008 to help with building projects at the Second Chance Education Center (SCEC) in Moshi. Below are photos showing the vast improvement in the kitchen and dining rooms for students and staff. Elimu Africa and SCEC are grateful to the Mitchells for their energy, compassion and generosity.
Dining Room Before and After
Kitchen Before and After
The stove donated by Elimu Africa donors is shown below the window. This method of coking replaces the need to collect wood and cook over an open fire.
In March, 2008 we received the official word: we are now a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization through the IRS. This good news will allow us to keep supporting deserving students in Tanzania. Summer seems an appropriate time of year for this to have happened. The seeds that were planted in 2005 with a simple idea and a passionate group of people have grown strong roots and will now have the chance to spread, grow and bloom. Over the next few months, our board will be doing some thoughtful strategic planning to define our direction. We will continually work to fulfill our mission: To help support disadvantaged students in Africa by facilitating their pursuit of education, which is vital to combating the cycle of poverty, disease and abuse.
We wish to thank our good friends of Tanzania Life Project for their support since 2005 as we awaited our non-profit status. They processed our funds, and their good advice and stellar example as an organization have been an inspiration.
Fall Fundraising Campaign: In 2007, we raised $16,000.00 simply by writing letters and receiving gifts from you, our friends, family and kind supporters. We will be sending letters once again this fall to help continue our work with students in Tanzania. Thanks for your generosity and compassion!
One individual can make a huge impact: Sandy Baldwin one of the CHS parent chaperones who traveled to Tanzania in March, 2008 with Dick McMorrow single handedly raised $20,000,00 for Tanzania Life Project. She did this by conducting an H2O project. Tanzania Life Project was the recipient of these funds which will go to help their current project of digging a well to supply water to the rural village of Chisichili, Tanzania.
If you are interested in doing a fundraiser at your school, church, community or your home, there are so many ways to have fun while helping a great cause. You can easily plan events like “Penny Wars” campaigns, “Dining for a Cause”, Walk or Bike-a-thons, or any idea you might have. If you are interested, please contact Kristy Blick, EA Chair.
Volunteer News
Volunteering through Elimu Africa:
Elimu Africa does not have a formal volunteer program at this time. However, if you are planning a trip to Tanzania, we are certainly willing to help you with advice on things like how to get your visa, how to pack and a few travel and volunteering tips.
If you are interested in planning a volunteer trip, please contact our volunteer liaison Dick Mc Morrow at mcmorrow@charter.net or Joelle Rosser, vice chair and assistant volunteer coordinator at joellelovesafrica@gmail.com. In addition, there is a lot of useful information on our web links page which would be helpful in trip planning.
Dick McMorrow, EA co-founder and board member traveled to Tanzania in March, 2008 with ten of his students and parent chaperones. The students were part of Dick’s Global Issues Class at Cathedral High School (CHS) in St Cloud MN. While in Tanzania, they volunteered at the Second Chance Education Centre. They spent time getting to know the students by tutoring, playing games and sports and just hanging out and sharing their mutual cultures. The CHS group spent hours working, laughing and sweating side by side with SCEC students while digging a large garden for the school. In addition to working with students in all of their volunteer work, Dick conducted a needs assessment at the school. The group also found time for a little fun with activities like swimming at the YMCA, day tours in the scenic Kilimanjaro region and going on Safari.
 | “This trip has been life changing for all of us and we want to bring our experience home to all of you, carry them with us for the rest of our lives and use them to do something more.” Kelly Becktold, CHS Jr. “This has been a great bonding experience and the group is truly getting along so greatly.” Abby Janick, CHS Jr. “We weren’t just helping students there, we became friends with them and inspired them to become strong, educated women and make a difference.” Tori Briixius, CHS Sr. |
Joelle Rosser, EA co-founder and Vice Chair continues her year-long stay in Tanzania which began in September, 2007. Joelle spent the first six months of her time working at SCEC. She wore many hats in her role at the school including classroom teaching, working to promote extracurricular activities, working with SCEC school administrators and conducting ongoing needs assessments at the school. Joelle has been a true gift to all of us at Elimu Africa with her hard work, great insights and compassionate, honest and thoughtful recommendations to our board. We are continually grateful to Joelle for being our eyes, ears and hands in Tanzania. Recently, Joelle has made a transition to follow another passion of hers which includes women’s health and empowerment and working in the medical field. Joelle has been an inspiration to so many here at home and a godsend to those she touches in her life in Tanzania. The following is a description Joelle wrote in March, 2008 describing her current projects:
“Although I visit the school regularly to see how the school is progressing and to socialize with the students, the majority of my work now takes place outside the school. I am working with other volunteers and ex-pats to develop long-term funding and volunteer strategies for the school. I am also researching how other private secondary schools in Tanzania develop and function, with the hope that this information can help Elimu Africa expand to other projects in the future.
I have also started working with Minjeni Women's Group, an organization providing services to a very poor area in Rural Moshi. The group provides support to orphans and vulnerable children, promotes women's social and economic empowerment, and addresses healthcare and educational issues. I am specifically working in the health and education department and we are currently trying to complete a needs assessment and provide basic health education seminars. I also spend a couple days a week volunteering at a rural hospital, doing everything from going on rounds with doctors to mopping floors to delivering babies to teaching expectant mothers how to play card games. I love my work in Moshi and dread the day I have to leave”
So, if you want to read my stories, keep any eye out for my emails, or for more frequent updates, check out my blog at www.moshimoments.blogspot.com
 | Joelle and new baby. Karibou – welcome to the world! |