SMART Telemarketing charity fundraising for Sangara Secondary school Tanzania

SMART Telemarketing charity fundraising for Sangara Secondary school
in Mvuti village,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

SMART's support of this project helped Plan to raise much needed funds to provide safer education and employment in Mvuti village, Tanzania. We aimed to help Plan reach their target of £89,636 within the first year.

Here at SMART we believe that all children throughout the world deserve the best start in life possible, and that includes access to education. We work in close association with Plan to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest children - those children who often have no chance of learning to read or write. We are therefore very pleased to support the Sangara Secondary school Project.

Overview & aims of the project

Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania. It is a commercial city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is an administrative region within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: Kinondoni to the north, Ilala in the centre of the region, and Temeke to the south.

According to the 2002 official census Dar es Salaam Region has a population of 2,497,940. Ilala District is one of three districts in Dar es Salaam. The 2002 National Tanzania Census states the population for Ilala is 634,924 of which 320,408 are male and 314,516 are female. The District has 3 divisions and 22 wards: Buguruni, Chanika, Gerezani, Ilala, Jangwani, Kariakoo, Kinyerezi, Kipawa, Kitunda, Kisutu, Kivukoni, Kiwalani, Mchafukoge, Mchikichini, Msongola, Pugu, Segerea, Tabata, Ukonga, Upanga-East, Upanga-West and Vingunguti.

Despite most of the commerce, banking and national government offices being located in Ilala district, the district is home to the poorest wards (sub-districts) in the region, with residents living in dilapidated houses which lack basic facilities such as latrines and proper ventilation.

The economic situation in Mvuti village, located in one of the poorest wards of Msongola, Ilala District, is extremely dire with most of the community members relying on small scale farming of crops which have a low financial return. Crops such as cassava, potatoes, coconut and fruits such as oranges and passion fruits are commonly produced in the area. The lack of growing economic activities in the village has had a significant impact on the youth and, despite the close proximity to Dar es Salaam City centre (40km away), few advantages are felt within the local community.

Educational prospects are also poor. Sangara Secondary school in Mvuti village was built in 2007 through the support of the community members and the municipal council. The school has a total number of 338 students which comprises of 200 boys and 138 girls. The school was previously in a state of disrepair and the economic issues that affect the area had deteriorated.

The project was intended to provide a safer learning environment for girls at Sangara Secondary school in Mvuti village. The construction of a dormitory and toilets meant that 100 girl students were able to live in a much safer environment and increased their chances of performing well in school and progressing in future education. Secondly, the project increased skills in the area as 20 local youths from Mvuti village were trained by a contractor (a United Kingdom based construction company) on construction skills. After the completion of their 2 months training the youths were provided with a tool kit which assisted them in finding work, helping them to become self employed which ultimately increased their income and livelihood opportunities.

Problems that needed addressing for Sangara Secondary School

SMART Charity Telemarketing Charity Fund Raising Tanzania School Girls Lack of Transportation: The area has very limited public transport systems and most public buses refuse to take in students because of the minimum bus fare that the students pay. This issue forces students to walk for up to 40km each day in order to attend school or conversely to rely on pick ups by lorries or cars. This heavily disrupts their studies as most students tend to miss out on early morning classes. The lack of a safe mode of transportation for students also puts girl students at a greater risk of being attacked.

Economical Background: With most of the parents and guardians living on less than $1 a day, it is very difficult for families to afford the daily upkeep of their children. Parents simply cannot afford to pay for the daily bus fare and other daily expenses. According to the school's headmaster, more than half of the students still haven't paid the USD16 annual school fee since last year, which is supposed to be used for school maintenance and other running costs of the school. Some students are being sponsored by NGOs such as Plan International which pays for their annual school fees.

Lack of Dormitories/Student Hostels: Most girls are forced to rent rooms in nearby villages so they can attend classes regularly. This arrangement is not safe for the girls as it exposes them to sexual abuse and can force them to engage in other disruptive activities in order get money for their daily upkeep. Staying in unfriendly environments also disrupts the student's concentration on their school work which ultimately affects their performance in school and their chances to improve their economic and social livelihoods.

Problems for the local youth

High unemployment rate: With very little economic activity in the area, most of the local youth are unemployed and lack the skills to enable them to become self employed. Most parents in the area simply cannot afford to pay for their children to attend vocational training.

Spread of HIV/AIDS virus: According to the Tanzania AIDS Indicator Survey (THIS) conducted in 2004, young people aged 10-24 years comprise 30% of the general population but account for 60% of all new HIV infections in the country. Young people who are idle are at a far greater risk of being infected as they are more likely to be less informed and unaware of the groups and networks available to support them.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse: Most unemployed young people in the rural areas engage heavily in substance abuse, this is mainly because they do not have anything to look forward to and have a bleak outlook on life.

SMART Charity Telemarketing Charity Fund Raising Tanzania School Children

Project Goal

To directly benefit 358 students in the town of Mvuti, Ilala District, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, through the construction of a girls dormitory, kitchen and dining hall and through the provision of vocational training in an effort to increase access to safer education and economic activities.

This project addressed interconnected issues. By providing new outlets and activities for local youth and students to participate in, the project encouraged children to take up productive activities through new educational and vocational skills. New skills turned decrease incidences of substances abuse, HIV/AIDS transmission and sexual abuse against girls. It encouraged higher employment rates and increased school enrolment and completion rates.

Beneficiaries

The projects directly benefited 358 students.

100 girl students benefited from the dormitory and kitchen
338 students were able to use the dinning hall and kitchen facility during lunch hours/examination time
20 local youths benefited from the construction training

Objectives

Provided a safe learning environment for 100 girl students
Trained 20 youth in construction skills

Activities Schedule

1. Community Sensitisation:

Plan conducted a community sensitisation meeting for the community members. Sangara Secondary School has a low number of students who come from the local village (Mvuti) as most local students don't perform well in their standard seven leaving examination and do not qualify to enter the government secondary schools. The community sensitisation enabled the parents in the Mvuti village to see the value of education instead of encouraging young girls to get married at an early age with just a basic primary school education and no formal training. The community sensitisation encouraged the local villagers to be part of the construction process by assisting the contractors with fetching water and collecting materials.

2. Construction:

A contractor was hired by Plan with an open tender system in which the procurement committee selected the most credible and affordable contractor. Contractors from the United Kingdom also assisted the local contractor (together with the 20 trainees) for a period of two months.

Dormitory and toilets: The local contractor and a UK construction company (together with the trainees) constructed a dormitory together with separate toilets/ shower area for the girls.
Construction of a kitchen and dinning Hall: A kitchen for the students was constructed in order to ensure that they cook their meals in a hygienic and safe environment. This ensured their safety as the students were not be using their dormitory for cooking and other meal activities.

3. Purchasing:

Furniture: The project purchased 50 bunk beds and 100 mattresses for the school. The bunk beds enabled the rooms to have enough space for mobility and study. The students were also provided with a set of bed sheets and pillows for hygiene purposes as some students cannot afford to purchase bed sheets
Kitchen Utilities such as plates and spoons for the students together with cooking pots were purchased
Safety Equipments: Four fire extinguishers were purchased for the dormitory as the school didn't have electricity so students depended on kerosene lamps in order to study at night
Tool Kit: The 20 trained local young people received a tool kit once they completed their 2 months training. The tool kit included brick trowel, spirit level, building square, wood trowel, metal trowel, plumb bob, triangle line, brick mould, shove, tape measure and wooden float

4. Training:

Twenty local youths were trained for two months. They were selected by the school construction committee which comprises of the ward leader, executive counsellor, head teacher, local contractor and one teacher. The Learning Advisor for Plan, together with the school committee developed a selection criteria which was used to select the young people who took take part in the training. The training of the young people was conducted by UK contractors.

5. Publicity:

Local media (Television and newspapers) covered the story of Sangara dormitory/training.

Collaboration with other organisations

Plan Tanzania identifyed a contractor through an open tender system, in which the procurement committee selected the most credible and affordable contractor. A UK based construction company made an initial commitment to the project. They also sent two key skilled workers on secondment for two months to help in the construction as well as train the 20 young people in vocational skills. The remaining funds were made up of a number of donations from a range of other companies including SMART.

SMART Telemarketing charity fundraising for Sangara Secondary school in Mvuti village, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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