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Sponsorship in Tanzania

CFCA began working in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 2004, through a partnership with the Love and Mercy Coalition (LMC), a U.S.-based non-profit organization founded by Mary Dawn Reavey. Programs promote compassionate leadership among youth; outreach, care and support for people with HIV/AIDS; inter-faith information exchange and sharing; access to quality education, housing and shelter; and support for single and widowed women.

The project is located just outside of Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. Benefits include food, clothing, housing, help with educational expenses and after-school tutoring.

Mary Dawn, a nurse practitioner, began living and working in Tanzania as a volunteer through the Catholic Medical Mission. While working as a volunteer, she started the Emmanuel Bible Story Group. The group serves as an opportunity for children to learn about the love and mercy of God through Bible stories, songs and skits.

Though Christian-based, the group promotes respect for all faith practices. The program also provides each child with a cup of milk and daily vitamins, and when the budget permits one kilogram of maize flour to be shared with their family.

A group of team leaders emerged from the Emmanuel Bible Story Group. The mission of the group is to encourage concern and compassion for their sisters and brothers in need, and to develop interest in service throughout the community.

The teams are responsible for organizing the Bible story hour, preparing and passing out milk, vitamins and flour. On the second Saturday of each month, the team leaders sponsor a “Hang-Out Day” for a group of orphaned teens who are HIV positive. The teens play games, sing, drum, dance, debate, discuss, draw and play, and share common experiences. The goal of these gatherings is to give these adolescents some normalcy and decrease the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.

Sponsor a child in Tanzania

About Tanzania

Tanzania is home to Africa’s highest mountain (Mount Kilimanjaro), one of its most famous game reserves (Serengeti National Park), and a rich diversity in culture and climate. The majority of the country is a highland plateau, but Tanzania’s terrain also consists of a semi-desert region, savanna grassland, a mountainous region and a coastal belt. During the long rainy season from March to May, it rains nearly every day. Most parts of the country are either hot and dry or hot and humid, but the mountain range in the northeastern part of the country offers a temperate climate.

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy’s heavy dependence on agriculture in a country where there is only 4.5 percent arable land plays a part in the extreme poverty. Farming provides 85 percent of exports and employs 80 percent of the work force.

Traditionally, industry mainly included the processing of agricultural products and light consumer goods. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania’s out-of-date economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty. In 1991-2002, growth led to a rise in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals, primarily gold.

The people

On the mainland, there are more than 100 ethnic groups, mainly of Bantu origin. The major non-Bantu ethnic group is the nomadic Maasai, of Nilotic background. The Swahili people from the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba are from a variety of ethnic backgrounds including Arabic, Comorian (Comoros Islands) and Bantu. Tanzania’s official language, Kiswahili, is the primary language of the Swahili people. No single ethnic group dominates the country’s government or economy, and internal conflict is minimal.

Indigenous Africans make up nearly all of the population in Tanzania. Each group has its own distinctive culture, however many traditional values are being adapted to modern life.

Education

Tanzania’s educational structure is made up of two years of pre-primary, seven years of primary, four years of junior secondary (ordinary or “O” level), two years of senior secondary (advanced or “A” level) and three or more years of tertiary (technical school or university).

In the 1960s and 70s, much emphasis was placed on the educational structure, and many schools were built around the country. More recently, however, government funding for education has been minimal, leaving impoverished local communities to cover the costs of educating their children. Primary education is compulsory in Tanzania, but because of limited resources many parents are not able to send their children to school.

Sponsor a child in Tanzania

Sources:

World Factbook

MSN Encarta Encyclopedia.