Newsletters: Volume 13 - Fall 2004
Back to School
Laundry Day at school
Those of you who have daughters in high school must be looking at your credit card “accounts due” about now. The back to school bills have arrived.
Did she really need all those clothes? Her closet was full before she began shopping. How can last Spring’s jeans possibly be out of style all ready? Did she really need a new watch? Shoes, how many pairs can one girl possibly need?
There are bills from everywhere, Victoria’s Secret, The Gap, The Limited, Filene’s, Nordstrom’s, CVS, Staples and Best Buy. The Bed, Bath and Beyond receipts indicate a color change in her linens and towels. All this is for a daughter who lives at home. If she were going off to school you would need to have a carpet, drapes, microwave, refrigerator, computer, entertainment center, DVDs, videos, cameras, lamps, a tennis racket, skis, her own credit card and meal ticket, and budget flights home for the holidays.
In East Africa, most of the high school students GTL supports attend boarding schools. The fees for these schools are less expensive than the day schools because bussing is so expensive. Boarding students have more time to study. If they went home every night there would be household work to do because their parents, if both are alive and in the home, are exhausted from the fieldwork or other manual work they perform from sunrise to sunset. There is no electricity. No studying in the evening.
In July or March when our girls go back to school this is the list of requirements. They may bring no more, no less. They sleep 30 or more to a room. An iron bed is supplied but they must bring their own mat and blanket. They have two hooks from which they hang their uniform and sweater. Their other belongings are stowed in a footlocker. They are required to bring two uniforms consisting of a skirt, shirt, jacket, stockings and black shoes. For after school and weekend wear they are limited to just two more skirts, shirts and sweaters, and another pair of shoes. A nightgown, underwear, and rags for their menses complete their wardrobe.
Some schools require them to bring a plate, cup, and silverware. They must supply their own soap for hand and clothes washing. Cosmetics and jewelry are not allowed. A bucket is required for clothes washing and an iron for keeping their uniforms pressed. These are the old fashioned irons that are placed on a very hot stove to heat. A fee of $60/year is charged for any medical care they may need. They may have only $5 for pocket money.
A GTL scholarship of $588 pays the school tuition and fees, their uniforms, food, books, and some supplies for a full year. Looking back at your credit card bills you can see that $588 goes a very long way in East Africa. How far does it go in one year toward your daughter’s secondary school education? Consider too that in the US the school fees of approximately $7,000/yr are publicly financed.
If your daughter could cut back her wants just a little bit, perhaps you may find it easy to provide for another “daughter” in East Africa.
GTL’s First Graduate
Anne Mbwambo
After 3 years of determined study, Anne Mbwambo has graduated from The Institute of Finance Management in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, receiving an Advanced Diploma in Accountancy. With GTL’s help, Anne had previously completed a two-year course at the College of Business Education, and both times finished number 2 in her class!
Her next step is to prepare for the upcoming examinations in order to become a CPA. At that point she will be highly employable, and GTL will have done its job. Anne would like to continue with her education, earn a Master of Finance degree, and eventually start her own business as a consultant.
Here are a few excerpts from Anne’s long letter to GTL: “I thank you for your kindness and effort. Also, I would like to express my thanks to your Board of Directors and all American people who participated in one way or another to make sure that GTL meets its long term plan, including sending Anne and other girls in East Africa to school.”
“My education level will enable me to be engaged in the social and economic development process, and to bring hope to my family, community, as well as my country. I strongly believe that quality education builds a solid foundation for a country’s social and economic development. The knowledge imparted to me through various courses will enable me to face and overcome the expected challenge in different working environments.”
All who have contributed toward Anne’s school fees can be assured that their funds have been well-spent. She is indeed a shining light – leading the way toward a better life for herself, her family, and the people of Tanzanea.
GTL Gaining Recognition
Another milestone for our organization is that for this coming year we will be listed in two non-profit catalogues. With the help of another non-profit organization, Aid to Africa Federation, Growth Through Learning will be listed for the Combined Federal Campaign. This means that all federal government employees will receive a catalogue of approved non-profit organizations. The employees then have the option of selecting the charity or charities of their choice and to contribute through a payroll deduction program.
GTL has also been selected to appear in this year’s Catalogue for Philanthropy. Although an organization may be listed only once, it frequently attracts significant media attention. Undoubtedly, our appearance in this professional-looking journal will help to further legitimize Growth Through Learning as a worthy non-profit organization.
A New Teacher In Uganda
Edith Takumanyi and students
During President Whiting’s last visit to Uganda, he had the opportunity to visit the National Teacher’s College and meet with Edith Takumanyi. Edith is currently finishing her final year and is shown here during her practice teaching training. She will take her final exams this November, and after graduation she hopes to teach Geography, Science, and Fine Arts in the Kampala area. Last year Edith finished 10th in her class of 210 students with a straight “A” average.
In her most recent letter to GTL she states: “In the first place I wish to sincerely thank you for paying my school fees that has enabled me to continue with my studies up to this time. The scholarship allowed me to take my teaching course I longed for ever since I was young. In case you come to Uganda next year, don’t hesitate to come and visit me where the government will appoint me to teach.”
Over and over again, GTL is hitting the mark with its scholarship program. We can all be uplifted and encouraged by such obvious proof that education is indeed the path to a better life. It is a privilege to be a part of this kind of progress.
Education Makes the Difference
School children in Kenya
Shouldering adult burdens
It’s not hard to imagine the difference that the opportunity to go to school can make to a young girl, and to the woman she will grow up to be. As I traveled in Kenya, I would see the school children in their blue, yellow and green uniforms, reminding me of a colorful flock of birds as they walked hand-in-hand hand down the red dirt roads or played soccer in open fields. I could hear them through the open windows of their classrooms, chanting in unison in response to their teacher’s questions. Whatever their situation might be at home, their time at school was a chance to be a child, doing a child’s work of learning and playing.
They were the lucky ones. In the same villages and towns I saw too many children, most often girls, who could not afford to go to school. They were dressed in tattered clothes, usually shoeless, tending a few cows, working in the market, carrying gallon tins of water on their heads, or caring for their younger siblings. They were shouldering adult responsibilities, their eyes expressing a weariness way beyond their years. What else but an education can improve the chances of a better life for these girls?
By raising the funds to provide them with scholarships, Growth Through Learning is offering girls the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to break the cycle of poverty and hope for a better future. I am proud and happy to be part of this organization. It is a chance for me to make a difference in the lives of these girls and young women.
Nobel Winner Reflects GTL's Goals
“Africa never has received the attention and assistance it justly deserves. Usually it takes a catastrophe to get American and European attention. And even then it is often too late.” These are the words of Tony Magliano, a journalist with the Catholic News Service in a recent article entitled “Africa in Crisis.”
However, the announcement of Wangari Maathai as this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner has served to call well-deserved attention to the remarkable good that is being done by a native Kenyan for her homeland. Wangari Maathai is the first black African woman to win a Nobel Prize in any category. More specifically, the Peace Prize citation lauded her for her work as a leader of the Green Belt Movement, an organization that has sought to empower women, improve the environment, and fight corruption in Africa for almost 30 years.
Just as Growth Through Learning emphasizes the empowerment of women through education, Wangari Maathai speaks to her fellow Kenyan countrywomen to protest political and social problems that prevent them from adequately providing for their children.
A first step in empowerment for women must always begin with education, and that is the mission GTL has in East Africa, to provide scholarships for needy girls and young women so that they can improve their own lives and those with whom they come in contact. If more women receive educational opportunities in East Africa, the news from Africa may brighten and there may be more African women following in the footsteps of Wangari Maathai as Nobel winners.
Growth Through Learning’s New Board Members
Donna Lazorik, of Somerville, MA is a registered nurse with an MS in Community Health Nursing from Boston University. She coordinates the Adult Immunization Program for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and is on the board of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. She spent fifteen months working in Khmer refugee camps in Thailand in the early 1980’s and assessed primary care programs throughout Vietnam for the William Joiner Foundation in 1990. In 2002, she spent three months volunteering as a technical consultant with the World Health Organization on the Global Polio Eradication Program in Kenya.
Beverly A. Alexandre, of Abington, MA attended Elmira College and New York University graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. She received her M.ED. from Tufts University and taught for several years before joining her family-run insulation and real estate management business started in 1949 by her father. Beverly is President of her family’s small private foundation, The Anderson Foundation. Following a safari to Tanzania in 2002 she became interested in the educational system in Tanzania and in one school in particular, the Shinda Basic School where she has committed her time and resources to improving the quality of the education there.
From The President
Another successful year has passed, and all of us here at Growth Through Learning are hoping for even better things to come. Due to the generosity of our donors we were able to award a total of 136 scholarships to 114 secondary school girls and 22 young women enrolled in college programs. This year we are aiming for 150 scholarships, and I am sure that with diligent effort we can achieve our goal.
For one thing, we have significantly enhanced our Board of Directors with the addition of Beverly Alexandre and Donna Lazorik. Both have been to East Africa and are continuing to work hard to improve the health and education of the people of Third World countries, particularly Kenya and Tanzania. Everything is needed there – classrooms, teachers, textbooks, and the funds required to support a decent education. GTL warmly welcomes both Donna and Beverly.
As you look through our Fall 2004 Newsletter, take a good look at the faces of the kids at school--the smiles and expressions of self-confidence tell it all. Then look at the picture of the poor girl who is devoting her time tending to younger siblings. I have personally visited with many of these girls, and I can absolutely state without doubt that the availability of a quality education is making all the difference.
Also, please note that there are three different articles written by Board members, Jeanne Lynch, Barbara McCarthy, and Donna Lazorik. This is so important to our overall growth and success. Each member of the Board, by necessity, has a slightly different perspective due to their experiences in East Africa and their functions on the Board of Directors. In no way is this a contradiction. This melding of knowledge, feelings, and ideas has been invaluable in formulating GTL’s current philosophy and procedures. Happily, the end result is a total commitment to the belief that the education of girls is paramount to the ultimate success of life in East Africa. The thank-you notes that we receive from the students greatly reinforces this belief.
Last modified: Nov 03, 2004, 21:40 EST