Update: As mentioned in my post from 12/1, I apparently didn't have a clear understanding of the Umoja Centre program at the time I wrote this email / blog post. The program is actually only one year, and upon completion the Centre works to find students sponsorships to go back into secondary education (high school), or to go to some sort of vocational training based on the student's career preferences. For those students who are unable to get into either of these types of programs (and there will be some, at least in the initial classes), Caroline has worked to find them jobs which are more skilled and therefore better paying than what they were previously doing before their time at Umoja.
(Note: The following post is an extract from an email I sent out detailing the volunteering I will be doing during my time in Tanzania. Therefore, many of you may have already read its contents)
For those of you who weren't aware, I came to Tanzania independently (i.e., not through a volunteer organization), and with little semblance of a plan. All I had was a local contact in the town of Arusha, a few links for lodging and Not-For-Profits (NFPs) that I could potentially look in to, and an opportunity to meet up with an organization in Southern Tanzania for the month of March (which arose from a meeting only four days before my departure). I have therefore been very active over the last week and a half visiting various NFPs, and have quickly committed to a schedule that should keep me busy for the remainder of my trip.
My time in Africa can be split into two parts: Nov - Late Feb, and Early March - Early April.
Nov - Late Feb
I will be spending these four months working with two organizations in the Arusha area, each for two days a week. On Mondays and Wednesdays I will be teaching at the Umoja Centre (http://www.umoja.com.au/ , I am told they are doing a large update to their website in a couple of weeks, so you may want to check back on this link). The Centre provides vocational training to underprivileged youths between the ages of 14-29. Students go through a two year program. In the first they learn basic life skills (e.g., English, Health, Rights) and gain an understanding of various career options. In the second year they are trained in a specific skill such as carpentry, tailoring, cookery, etc. Due to a current lack of funding, the school employs only one full time teacher, and must rely on volunteers to fill the remaining teaching needs. Starting this week, I am filling in the position of teaching computer (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, how to use the Internet, etc.). Unfortunately, the previous volunteer who recently departed left virtually nothing to go on, so a large part of my job will include lesson planning and documenting, which will help establish a consistent curriculum for students across years and make the jobs of future volunteers much easier (You will notice sustainability is a key theme in my volunteer activities. I want to do everything possible to ensure the work I am doing can be continued by others after I leave, rather than having new volunteers start over from square one). Additionally, I will be teaching and designing curriculum for a personal finance / intro to business class, which will commence when the new class of students begins in January.
The other organization I will be volunteering with is an orphanage, Cradle of Love, which houses infants as young as newborns to about 3 years of age (http://www.cradleoflove.com/). On Tuesdays and Thursday I typically head out to help care for and play with the children for about 4-5 hours. However, I will also be spending significant time doing an analysis of their donation and public relations strategy. Specifically, I will be analyzing what they currently do to raise monetary and in kind donations, and then will be recommending and helping implement improvements that should generate an increase in donations. I have already had an initial interview with Davona, the director of COL, and it seems there will be some significant opportunities to improve (FYI, for those of you with experience in this area, please let me know if you have any information or materials that might help me develop some expertise in this area).
Early March - Departure (April 6th)
Just before leaving the U.S., I had the opportunity to meet with a friend of a former colleague, David, who works with an organization called Global Family Rescue (http://www.globalfamilyrescue.org/). They are an organization that provides financial resources to families to help them start businesses and eventually become self sufficient. They operate in both Uganda and Tanzania, and are currently supporting over 30 families in the southern Tanzania area (I'm not sure about the statistics for Uganda). David invited me to meet up with him when he comes over in early March, and join a group he is leading to tour the southern region of Tanzania and meet each of the families the organization is currently supporting. He has then asked if I would then be interested in staying on for my last three weeks to do an assessment of the organization from a strategy and operations perspective. While the details are still being sorted our and the scope of the assessment still being defined, I am fairly confident that everything will get worked out and that this opportunity will come to fruition. I'll be sure to post updates as more details emerge.
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