You Can Make a Difference

Those who think of others not only do something good, but also help themselves. Being there for others, making others happy or supporting them in difficult situations not only puts a smile on the other person’s face, it also increases your own joy and satisfaction. Thus, the giver always gets something back. 

What do you have in your heart? Do you want to give to others and to yourself? And if so, what do you like best? Would you like to visit a school and play with the children, paint or teach them? Or would you like to support the school with teaching materials? You can also help to bring the school building into a better condition. Also you have the possibility to visit a family and support them, for example with clothes or food. What about giving a cow to a family? What? A cow?? Yes!

You Can Make a Difference

Those who think of others not only do something good, but also help themselves. Being there for others, making others happy or supporting them in difficult situations not only puts a smile on the other person’s face, it also increases your own joy and satisfaction. Thus, the giver always gets something back. 

What do you have in your heart? Do you want to give to others and to yourself? And if so, what do you like best? Would you like to visit a school and play with the children, paint or teach them? Or would you like to support the school with teaching materials? You can also help to bring the school building into a better condition. Also you have the possibility to visit a family and support them, for example with clothes or food. What about giving a cow to a family? What? A cow?? Yes!

esight Ecolodge & Safari – Ngorongoro Crater

Support

There are many different ways to support the people in this region or to make them happy. For example, you can contribute your knowledge or your manual skills or give something “material”. Here you will find opportunities to get involved yourself and gain great experience in the process:

Create

Tanzania is a very child-rich country and accordingly there are many schools here. The government does not seem to have enough money to keep the schools in good condition, much less to provide things beyond the normal school supplies. That’s why  you can paint or build something in the school—like shelves or school desks with a table. You can also help with specific projects, such as building a playground or the school kitchen.

Teaching

The children at school are eager to learn. You get the impression that even the youngest ones feel that learning is a privilege and that knowledge creates freedom. You are welcome to teach at the school. The requirement is that you can teach in English (or in Suhaeli). English is a particularly important school subject and the teachers are also happy to receive a little help. Usually a teacher from the school accompanies the lessons to translate into the native language if the students have difficulties. Other possible subjects are mathematics or science. You usually teach sixth or seventh grade.

Giving time

Most of state primary schools would like to offer art classes in painting and music, but they usually fail to provide the necessary equipment. And it is also natural that more priority is given to other subjects such as mathematics, languages or science. Nevertheless, most children love to paint and draw, but don’t know watercolors and don’t have crayons or paper at their disposal. All the greater is the joy when the material is provided and someone shows them how to do it and paints with them. The same goes for various games. Memory and puzzles are loved by children and they hardly have the opportunity for these games. This is something for the younger ones, because they are also excited when someone spends time with them. Soccer for the boys and netball for the girls is very popular. Again, you can surely teach the kids some good tricks. And lots of fun is guaranteed!

Do you want to get involved?

If you are interested in supporting the community around the lodge in Karatu in any way, please feel free to contact us. We are happy about any interest. We would also be very grateful for further ideas for support or about your experiences that you have already made in other places and that could be useful for us. 

Give

“Before giving, the mind of the giver is happy; while giving, the mind of the giver is made peaceful; and having given, the mind of the giver is uplifted.” Buddha

Below we present a few ways you can make meaningful gifts during your stay in Tanzania:

MUH: Our Cow Program

Our cow program was an idea of Ernest. A needy family is provided with a cow. The family must take good care of the cow, and if there are any difficulties, we are informed. The family is allowed to use the milk themselves or sell it. The first and the third calf the family has to give to us, we then give these animals to other needy families with the same concept. All other calves (usually one calf per year) the family may keep. After the third calf is surrendered, the cow becomes the property of the family. Although the program is long-term, it “multiplies” on its own. A good and mature cow that can become pregnant in a timely manner costs about 335 US-Dollars. There is also the possibility that two people or families together give a cow. Every 7th and 25th of each month is market day in Karatu, there the cows are chosen by the families themselves.

Lunch

To ensure lunch for a child at school, only 28 US-Dollars per year (!) are necessary. From this amount corn, beans, oil and salt are bought. Furthermore, firewood for the stove is paid and a small part for the cook’s salary. For us this is not much money, but for poor families it is. Especially if they have more than one school child, which is the rule. The specific support child by child has turned out to be more targeted than the donation of food for the school in general. This is because even the slightly better-off families felt that there was no contribution to be made, which of course does not work. With this new approach, the support reaches the children and families directly. We think that’s great!

Teachers

The introduction of compulsory education was certainly a milestone in the future development of Tanzania. But unfortunately, things are not yet running smoothly. One problem is that there are too few teachers at the school. How can the children be successful if they are not taught? Of course there are teachers at the schools, but they are sometimes sick, prevented or simply unmotivated. Thus, often one third to one half of the classes are without a teacher. The salary of a teacher is between 110 and 168 US-Dollars per month. Our two teachers Happyness and John (on the picture above) have been working conscientiously and full of commitment for the Primary School since May 2021. Their salary is financed by generous people who want to give the children a chance for a good education. Many thanks for this!!! We appreciate any financial contribution for the two teachers!

School uniform & chalk

By now you probably have a good picture of what government schools are like. There is a lot missing and any help is greatly appreciated. Other ways to give something are for example school uniforms (a complete set costs 22 US-Dollars). School supplies such as notebooks, pencils, chalk, printer paper and so on are also always needed, and every contribution helps the school and the students. It is of course a special experience if you bring these donations in person. But we are also happy to help you get the things for you. Just let us know what you would like!

“It’s the encounters with people ...

… that make life worth living.” This quote is from Guy de Maupassant—and we love it! And yet: some encounters we tend to avoid. Anita, one of our founders, was often asked how she manages to meet people living in poverty. In the past, she also worried that it would be difficult, but it was quite different. In this article, she shares the personal story of her first encounters in Tanzania.

Foresight Ecolodge & Safari – Massai
Foresight Ecolodge & Safari – Massai
Foresight Ecolodge & Safari – Massai
Foresight Ecolodge & Safari – Massai