Jambo,

We are now in the last month of the first quarter in this year, I know everybody has been working hard wherever you are to make sure that the goals for this year are met by making the most of the first months of the year. In Tanzania we have a saying meaning, do your business in the morning, then count your money in the evening. Likewise, TFFT in the Scholarship program has accomplished a lot in this first quarter of the year as far as our strategic plan is concerned.

One of our strategic objectives is “to ensure OVC’s receive quality education and psychosocial support, through the improvement of OVC support structures” which in conjunction with other strategies can be realized by providing psychosocial support and counseling for TFFT scholars.

In the past few weeks TFFT by the help of Tanzania Women Research Foundation (TAWREF) completed its first ever psycho social support program known as Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT) in which 32 scholars aged between 7 to 13 were screened and 13 of them together with their guardians went through a twelve weeks counseling sessions. These sessions were intended to help these scholars live in a less stressed world by coping with their current situation and receiving hope that there is a lot more good in their future than whatever bad happened in their past.

It is always not easy when something is done for the first time, so in this program, during its implementation we encountered so many challenges which prolonged the finishing period of the program but there is a swahili say which states…”chelewa ufike” meaning, get late but arrive safe, we have taken all the challenges in this program as lessons learned both we and our partners TAWREF.

TF-CBT was one thing, but on the other side, three of our older girls Nicemary, Mary and Magdalene were enrolled in the computer course which lasted for one month. There after, they joined a three month English course, in which they are currently in their final month. Both courses were meant to give them something useful to do while waiting to join colleges in the few coming months and also providing them more skills, confidence, and exposure so that they are ready to face the employment world after college.

Apart from that, two other TFFT scholars Isac and Ombeni (who are in the Professional Tour Guide School) were also enrolled in the driving course which lasted for one month. Driving is a compulsory skill for any professional tour guide for them to perform their duties successfully. Isac and Omben are now over with their certificate course and have been accepted for Diploma in Professional Tourguide. Best of luck Isac and Ombeni!

Our scholars at Usa River Academy also finished their first term, and during break some attended the RENEW workshop with our Full Circle Program Director, Chloe, while others were in the Tutoring program. All of the students are now due for their second term in school. Soon you will get to hear from some of our new scholars in the program about their new experience at Usa River Academy, get ready…till next time, tchao!

How do I sum up a 5-day workshop with our Secondary students?  Well…honestly it is probably not possible, but I will sure do my best!  First, an introduction to the concept of the RENEW workshop and how it came to be.  Reintroducing some familiar faces: Adam Rubin and Uswege Mwakapango!  Adam is my predecessor as Full Circle Director and Uswege is a long time volunteer and supporter of Full Circle.  They have come together to create a life skills education program called RENEW (Recycle, Educate, Nurture, Empower, Wear) which involves an intensive workshop on life skills and community development projects, creating t-shirts, and then the development of a school club.

So, last Monday, Adam, Uswege, and I opened up my home for the first ever RENEW Workshop for Usa River Academy Secondary TFFT Students who were out on break.  As it is the rainy season, Monday, of course, began with a LOT of rain.  As the poor, wet students wandered in, they were greeted by a far less gloomy atmosphere of music, posters, and chai to get us started!

Monday through Friday we covered a host of topics including: leadership, self-respect, goal setting, decision-making, communication, gender, and community involvement. As my living room wall slowly went from blank to covered in multiple layers of posters, you could see our progress and learning.  Utilizing music, videos, drawing, games, and group discussions, the workshop was as fun as it was educational! Sounds pretty great, doesn’t it?  Well it was pretty great! So great that I think us facilitators got just as much out of it as the scholars did. As much as I could talk and talk and talk about what WE talked about, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will let the pictures, along with quotes from the students, tell the most important parts of the workshop!

Which topic do you learn the most about?

Dickson: Gender. Because in our traditions and customs we don’t respect women and we think that women have nothing to contribute in helping and building the nation and because I got this education I will teach other people in my community that even women can do it if they are empowered.

How do you think you can use the things you learned in the workshop to bring change to the community and to the world?

Nancy:

-       Visiting rural areas and give them training about Gender Equality.

-       Teach people about Positive Communication Skills.

-       Prepare programs to teach people about all the things that am taught in the workshop for the betterment of their futures.

Eliupendo: I think I can use things I learned in the workshop to bring the change to the community and the world by showing/sharing what I have learned and showing them example through myself.

Dickson: The things I learned I can 100% use to bring changes in my community, first of all I will teach other community members about gender equality.

 Why did you come to the RENEW Workshop?

Eliopendo: I think I’m going to learn things here which will help me to gain something I didn’t have before I came here. It will give me confidence.

Irene: We are all human beings, and we all face problems in our lives. Using the life skills I’m gaining here, I will be able to conquer those problems.

Nicemary: The things in this workshop relate to real life. I can apply them everyday in my life. I wish the workshop would be more than one week, and could last even one year.

What is the difference between how you learn in the RENEW Workshop and how you are learning at school?

Nancy:

-       For me, the workshop helped me to develop goals and dreams, but I’m really going to apply skills in Communication, because I’m poor in Communication. From now, I’m going to try to change that in myself.

-       We are free to share ideas, knowing that it is not going to be correct or incorrect. If I’m incorrect, you’re going to help me understand in a positive way. Here, we can say anything and have the chance to express ourselves.

Happy: At school we only focus on studies, then I came here and I can learn about life skills, which in general I can apply in my life. At school they are just teaching us to pass exams. What if we fail Form 4 exams? With this workshop I came to learn that failing Form 4 exams is not failing in life. What we learn have allows us to choose what we’re going to decide to do if we do fail and face those challenges. With what I learned here I can still do anything in the world.

With the knowledge I’m gaining from this workshop, even if I will face any discouragement I will know how to handle it. I will never let anybody discourage me. Now I know how to treat other people, and I will encourage other people.

Hello again!

Today I am back with the fun stuff. While yesterday’s post discussed many of the issues surrounding illiteracy and the lack of resources. Today I bring to you an idea that I hope will excite you and motivate you to get involved!

Our support for teachers doesn’t end with the training—we need to provide them with the tools too. Without books and literacy resources, the training would be futile. I aspire to provide each school we’ve trained with a mini-Literacy Center, a nook where teachers and learners can come to read and borrow books, a place where teachers can have access to resources to teach their pupils how to read and write. I am hoping to get book donations. Books of all sorts are most welcome—old and new alike—story books, picture books, alphabet books, non-fiction (reference) books, leveled readers. Literacy-related materials are also needed: writing instruments of all kinds, manila cards for making word cards, a laminating machine or two to help teachers make their visual aids more durable. If you are feeling extra-generous you can also donate towards a fund that would make the centers look inviting and comfortable—to buy paint, mat/s, tables and some chairs, bookshelves. The gift of reading is the most important thing you can give a child. Let us help Tanzanian children break the walls around them and start discovering new worlds.

If you are interested in participating, please email info@thefoundationfortomorrow.org for more details!

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

I was, and still am, proud to have come from a town—tiny it may be—in rural Philippines with a public library. Looking back, I would say that being introduced to it at third grade by the daughter of my kindergarten teacher was the greatest blessing of my childhood life. I always wonder: Had I not discovered the joys of reading at an early age, would I have ended in the here and now doing what I am doing? I have always believed that reading saved my life because no matter how hard life was growing up, I always had books to take me away from my realities to live another’s.

But aside from having a library to borrow books from, I was also lucky to have adults around me who encouraged my budding interest on reading. My parents, although not big on reading themselves, exempted me from most household chores because of it (much to the annoyance of my siblings). My teachers allowed me to borrow from their personal collections—one of my university professors even went to the extent of gathering must-read classics for me to take home during the semestral break. She also took time to talk to me about them when the school reopened. I knew she was trying to check to see if I did read them and what I learned.

In Tanzania, not too many kids are blessed with these same opportunities. Schools don’t have libraries. A single textbook is shared by 7 students and having 22 students share 1 book is not at all unusual here. Except for the tattered textbooks that are so scarce in the first place, there are nary printed materials to look at and read in the classroom. For most, a library is just a concept, a word to be defined. Registering for a library card happens when you reach the University, if at all. Without the resources, the love for reading is not cultivated among the young by their teachers, by their elders. Reading is never for enjoyment but always for a purpose: to pass tests.

The effects of the utter lack of resources and lack of attention for reading instruction on the learning outcomes among Tanzanian students are sobering. In the annual countrywide assessment done by Uwezo in 2011, it was found out that “only 1 in every 10 standard 3 students (equivalent of third grade) can read a basic English story, only 3 in 10 can read a basic Kiswahili story” (Uwezo, 2011).  The report “Are Our Children Learning? Annual Learning Report Tanzania” published by the same organization in 2010 avers that “by the time they complete primary school, half of all children [49.1%] still cannot read a Std. 2 level English story, and far fewer are likely to read at the Standard 7 level.”  The thing about reading is that it is foundational to academic learning. If a child can’t read at the end of third grade, he will become more and more lost academically. The 2012 Form 4 National Examination results released in February showed a 60% percent failure rate. The whole nation gasped, shocked. “A national disaster,” they said while asking for the resignation of Ministry of Education officials. I am sure interventions are being planned. I just hope making reading a focal point in Tanzanian education is one of them.

Recently, the TFFT Teacher Training Program conducted an Early Grade literacy training for pre-primary up to Class 3 teachers. The training-workshop focused on the five components of reading instruction: phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. As this is a pilot training program, we trained 5 primary schools (3 of which are government-run and 3 TFFT partner schools) and 2 Teacher Resource Center coordinators.  I’ve led a lot of trainings in my short career as a trainer/facilitator but this is the most important one I have ever led. Beyond my affinity with books and reading, the need to help Tanzanian teachers on reading instruction is of paramount importance.

With Peter Meikoki, Matonyok Primary School teacher, who shared with his co-participants his experience of using what he learned from the Literacy through Photography workshop last year.

Madam Eva Mosha, District Primary Education Officer, addressing the participants during the workshop’s closing ceremony: “We need teachers who have 3 Cs: Commitment, Confidence, Consistency.” Marco Allute, TFFT Managing Director (center), also attended the ceremony. Seated at the far right is Mary Zulauf, training co-facilitator, and also a volunteer for TAWREF.

The Training on Early Grade Literacy participants with Madam Eva Mosha, Marco Allute, and Mary Zulauf.

With the three-day workshop finished, I am ready to embark on another journey on my strategy map and for this one, I need your help. I will be back tomorrow with the details!

We (Meghann and Kaitlin) spent last week catching up with supporters in sunny California. We started in San Francisco (and had meetings in Sausalito, Berkeley, and Palo Alto). We then took the scenic route all the way to L.A. stopping for a dinner meeting in Thousand Oaks and ending the night in Pasadena. We carried on to Santa Monica and Venice Beach and finally rounded out the trip in San Diego. Throughout the trip we frequently exclaimed, “our supporters live in the coolest places!” It wasn’t lost on us that this was a unique type of business trip!

TFFT is fortunate to have a significant donor-base on the West Coast, and just as we won’t let geography to dictate an individual’s life potential, we don’t want geography to dictate how much our supporters hear from us. For that reason, we wanted to make a concerted effort to show some love, catch up, share our progress, and listen to new ideas. Last week we did just that, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the passion and excitement that the TFFT ambassadors on the West Coast shared with us!

On this trip we strengthened great partnerships, caught up with wonderful sponsors, reminisced with RIDETZ alum, reconnected with Global Shapers, welcomed siblings of RIDETZ riders to the TFFT family, and let the left coast fuel our creativity. We also saw some incredible East Coasters who have relocated…we had been sad to see them go, but now we understand their love for Cali!

Come on… what’s not to love?!

The 3 year strategic plan that we launched last July set us in motion to transform the education landscape in Tanzania. This road trip was part of the transformation. From the moment we landed our creative juices were flowing, and each individual we met with Sunday through Thursday helped advance TFFT through their vision, network, compassion, execution, and energy! We covered 700 miles and met with over 20 individuals to share our impact and direction moving forward!

All in all, we like you, California.

Until next time xoxo,

Meghann and Kaitlin

Lake Chala is a place where inspiration is born. This expansive, calming, and downright gorgeous setting gave our team a sense of peace and excitement. I was shocked that in the nine years I have been coming to and working in Tanzania, I had yet to visit.

Lake Chala’s tranquility lent itself to openness and self reflection as we gathered as a team to learn more about each other. Our top priority was to focus on purposefully harnessing our many strengths.

Over a year ago my Global Shaper hub introduced me to the Clifton StrengthsFinder Assessment and the book Strengths Finder 2.0.  I am a huge believer that work environments thrive when the individuals who work together know, understand, and respect each other and recognize and appreciate the strengths they each possess. This allows for creative and collaborative teamwork that utilizes everyone’s talents, which leads to a more effective and efficient workplace. The entire TFFT team read the book and came to the retreat understanding their 5 main strengths. I, for example, am predominantly an achiever with focus, input, competition, and belief following close behind. At Lake Chala we talked extensively about how to best apply each other’s strengths in a our work environment.

We also went through a life mapping exercise and shared some really powerful and formative moments of our pasts. I felt privileged to listen and also to have my story, past and present, so warmly received. This process gave the team clarity on each team member’s reaction to hurdles and successes, preference for engagement, and tendency to gravitate to certain projects. This took us into the night, and I truly feel that it brought us closer. I am thrilled everyone was keen to participate fully!

Following the retreat we held intensive sessions with each program director and coordinator to map out the next 12 months clearly identify how every aspect of the programs line up with our strategic plan advance our mission.

We plan on making this retreat an annual event!

Whenever you are down or whenever you want to get a brighter perspective on life, I highly recommend that you take a short little trip down to Matonyok!  This is a little easier for me than for the average reader, but it is a trip well worth making, no matter the distance. Matonyok is one of our partner children’s homes and schools.  I’m sure you have read of Matonyok before, but we continue to see growth, improvements, and success at this school, and every time I go, it makes my week brighter!

The occasion for my trip to Matonyok last week was to assist Melissa in observing the teachers at the school.  With our new video cameras (BIG thanks to Kaitlin and all who donated!), we are now able to record teachers so that they can SEE themselves teaching, and Melissa can use the videos to show other teachers successful educational methods.  What an awesome and easy way to share the knowledge of teachers to improve the education that our kids receive at school!

One of the best things about the teachers at Matonyok is the interactive ways that they use to teach the students.  Teacher Peter (Class 1 and 2 teacher) uses tons of color, imagination, interaction, and group work in every subject and his hard work has paid off.  Listening to the young students’ English class was a delight and made me want to join in too!

Peter used methods from the Literacy Through Photography training that Melissa held through Duke University last summer.  Each student was given a picture and a different task.  Some were to write about the different colors that were present in their picture, others picked a person in the picture and wrote about that person—what their name might me, what they are doing, how they feel, why they feel that way, where they are going.  After they were finished, the students were eager to present their stories in front of the class.  Suffice it to say, if all the teachers in Tanzania were like Peter, it would be a very different place…which is precisely why Melissa is using his class as an example in her upcoming teachers training!  Enjoy this short video and get a glimpse into a classroom at Matonyok!

A week ago, Melissa, Chloe, Erasto, and I concluded a course on Basic Counseling skills conducted by Arusha Mental Health Trust (AMHT). Arusha Mental Health Trust, apart from giving training, offers also direct clinical, out-patient service in psychiatry and clinical psychology and counseling for people of all ages and from all ethnic backgrounds in English and Swahili. It has been a great opportunity for TFFT to meet AMHT people because we discovered there are a lot of services we can explore from them for the psychosocial growth of our kids. Since every team member is directly involved with our kids, TFFT finds it is very important for us to attend this course. All of us were exited to attend the course.

We started the course on 15^th Jan, 2013 we finished on 5^th March, 2013. The training was eight sessions, conducted on Tuesday from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. It was a long way, and the time to start class was a bit challenging, so sometimes we had to sacrifice our lunch to be at the training venue on time, but finally we all made it to the graduation day.

I learned a lot of things from the training—all the basic counseling things. This course helps me a lot in my daily work with our kids in the program and even in my life outside my job. It really added value to my daily life in general as well as my team members as we attended the course, I believe. We gained a lot from day one to the last day.

Here is the brief summary of what we covered for this course from day one to the last day:

Day one was introduction to counseling; I learned what counseling is, what counseling is not, confidentiality in counseling and mindfulness. Day two we focused on communication skills in counseling. These include effective communication, listening skills, and how we communicate. On day three I learned different skills a counselor needs to use in sessions. Day four was the preferred picture where by I learned how to help people identify, choose, and shape problem managing. Day five I learned how to help people implement their plans. Day six we had a look at some of the most common difficulties: anxiety and anger. Day seven, I learned grief, bereavement, and depression. This included accepting reality of the loss, working through pain and grief, emotionally relocating the deceased, moving on with life and ways to assist grieving clients. Finally the graduation day, the last day, we dealt with couples and families. Where by I learned eight stages of transition of family life and their development task, some tips for couples and six steps for resolving conflict effectively.

Isn’t this wonderful!  As a psychosocial and health coordinator, all these session added value to my daily work in the program. It has been an eye opener to me since most of the time I did sympathize with people in their situation. I learned that I need to be more empathetic in order to be able to solve the problem.  I learned not to be judgmental. Apart from the courses, I met different people with different experiences from different countries. I learned so many things from them which shape my thinking too.

Hello! I hope you had a wonderfully green and festive weekend for St. Patrick’s Day. It was absolutely gorgeous out in Charlotte, and we enjoyed every bit of it. On Saturday the Myers Park High School TFFT Club collected jerseys at a local YMCA to send to the TFFT kids. (Shhh… if you’re in Tanzania reading this… it’s a surprise!). I stopped by for a little while as things were wrapping up. We chatted about the success of the drive, and Keenan, Sarah, and Mary Kennon caught me up on club activities, meanwhile youth soccer games surrounded us on all sides and families and kids mulled about enjoying their Saturday outside. This environment once again reminded me of the power of family and made our mission seem even more compelling.

The MPHS TFFT Club’s idea for the drive came about when they learned of our kids’ love of soccer and also of the care packages our kids receive at the beginning of each term. Usually these packages include essentials like soap, school supplies, and new shoes; however, next term they will also include a surprise–a new jersey from their friends in America! You can read a recent article about the drive here. We are just so impressed with this club and their engagement with TFFT!

It was fun to consider that if our kids had magically been with me in Charlotte on Saturday, they would have jumped right in to one of the soccer games. Or… if some of the kids from the local Y suddenly found themselves at Usa River Academy, they could certainly count on playing some futbol. Because at the end of the day, kids are kids, and soccer is universal!

I hope you have a nice Monday! We’ll be back tomorrow with a post from Hedwiga… her first appearance on the blog! Please stop by to hear about her experience with the counseling training and to share some love in the comments!

Also, please remember to support our Annual Fund!

Let’s be honest, there is really no way to glorify an annual fund.

Annual funds cover behind-the-scenes operational expenses like gas for the car–quite literally, but I’m also talking metaphorically. Let’s run with the metaphor for a bit…. Imagine you want to road trip to the beach. You dream of the smell of the ocean, the sand between your toes, the sun on your back, and the blissful relaxation. In order to get there, you fill up your tank and pile some friends in the car. The end result far outweighs the costs to get there; however, without those initial funds the trip would not have been possible.

The same is true for TFFT. If the beach–or a world where orphans and vulnerable children contribute to society as active and empowered citizens free of exclusion, disadvantage, and vulnerability–is the Vision, then the fuel to get there is a small, but critical price to pay!

TFFT is an extremely lean organization, and we are always working to keep operation costs to an absolute minimum. As far as gas goes, we are definitely driving a hybrid vehicle! (Oh wait–Meghann and I actually do rock the Prius!) The Annual Fund, however, is critical to cover the unavoidable operational expenses that enable us to effectively manage our daily work so that we may ultimately arrive where we want to be–a place that is better for everyone, most importantly orphans and vulnerable children. This fund is essential for TFFT’s sustainability, and it is integral to the growth of our Teachers Training, Scholarship, and Full Circle programs.

So, today I ask you, “do you really believe in TFFT’s Vision?”

If your answer was, “yes,” will you please help get us to the beach for the sunset? If you have never before made a gift to TFFT, this is the perfect way to demonstrate your support. Your gift will officially make you part of TFFT’s family! If you are someone who is already deeply invested in TFFT’s work, then we hope you especially will see the importance of this expression of support. Please support the Annual Fund in a way that shows your passion for TFFT’s Vision! Each dollar will help advance us to our goal!

Click here to show your support!

Click here to learn more about TFFT’s Annual Fund!