In my last post I put in a link to the Umoja page for the 3030 Challenges. You can click through from there to the homepage to find out more about the Centre.
My involvement with the Centre began in 2010 when I decided to sponsor a student. The sponsorship coordinator offerred to send me some student profiles so I could pick one, but I asked her to just pick the most needy one. Having now visited the Umoja Centre I am a little less naive- these guys are all in enormous need of support in ways that most of us in the wealthy developed world can barely comprehend. I remember the day I learnt, while scoffing down a huge bowl of cornflakes, that the students turning up for school that day had probably never had the luxury of breakfast. Getting one meal a day, usually an evening meal, was about as much as most them could hope for. Me, I turn into psycho woman if I don't get food every three hours!!! Pity the people who encounter me the week of the challenge... (you have been warned).
The student I sponsor is a charming young man called Albert. We write letters to each other every now and again, and got to meet each other when I visited Tanzania towards the end of last year (he's the guy going around Arusha in the NSW NPWS t-shirt- shhh don't tell my Director)! All of the students were, in fact, delightful. They were polite, friendly, punctual, courteous- and these are teenagers! Clearly the negative stereotypes we have of teenagers in the West can't be applied universally. These guys turn up to school early, smile broadly and say 'good morning' without prompting, and when asked how they are, respond enthusiastically with words like 'tremendous' or 'marvelous'! They also stay back after school and help to clean up. They clearly love being there, and wholeheartedly embrace the opportunity of attending the Umoja Centre.
The students (50% female 50% male) are among the most impoverished young people in Arusha and most have barely completed primary school when they start at the Centre. They spend a year at the Centre learning the essentials (see the website) before being placed either back into the mainstream education system, into vocational training, or into the workforce. The sponsor is encouraged to keep sponsoring them given that they need ongoing financial support to cover the costs of attending mainstream schools or training centres (poverty is the reason they weren't studying in the first place- only primary school is subsidised in Tanzania). Most impressive is the 100% success rate the Centre has had to date in securing either a placement or a job for the students.
Needless to say, I loved the place and the students, and was really impressed with the work Programme Manager Caroline, the Tanzanian staff, and the volunteers, are all doing. And I've been driving everyone around me nuts with my enthusiasm since I returned (actually I have calmed down a bit). So this is why I decided to throw my hat into the ring and do a '3030 Challenge'!
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