This blog was created to spread the vision of our work in Tanzania. After working in Arusha for a few years now I have discovered that to make any real change we must focus on the women of this community. Our nonprofit Shining Light (www.shiningalight.org) has been created to provide jobs to women in extreme poverty so that they can be empowered to care for themselves and their families. Our goal is to keep women working and children educated.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The children started school on Monday and even though our desks and chairs were not ready they were so excited to be in their new building. It's the rainy season here in Tanzania and they showed up late, muddy and chilled to the bone but we were there to greet them and warm them up with some singing. We also had a few waiting out by the gate because they wanted to join our school. One little girl's father told me that she said there was "no chance" of her going home that she wanted and was going to be one of our students. Unfortunately we had to turn her away because we are well above capacity but we are working on plans to enlarge the school creating more space for needy children. We have also adopted a tuition plan that we feel will help the parents take ownership and pride in our school. By charging a small fee for each child to attend the school the community and it's families will begin to take more of an interest in the school and help us make it a success! If you're interested in helping us by supporting our school please go to www.shiningalight.org and make a donation or purchase a pair of our beautiful handmade sandals made by the mother's of our students today.
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