February 19, 2016

The identification of new scholars is a critical component in TFFT’s Scholarship Program. Ever since the program began in 2008, we have worked to improve the process of scholar selection. The criteria for determining eligible scholars has been systematically reviewed each year, based on scholar vulnerability and poverty levels. 

Our means for identifying scholars include the use of surveys that determine likelihood of poverty within a household. TFFT considers the households that are more likely to be poor, based on expenditure levels. This criteria supports our mission to improve the lives of most vulnerable children (MVCs), and ensures that the targeted populations of poverty stricken families is systematically included. Overall, TFFT sees the most need in areas of Meru and Arusha Districts.

After careful consideration of needs, and consultation among TFFT team members, we decided to increase our number of scholars in 2016. This year, we have enrolled an additional 18 students in TFFT’s Scholarship Program, making it our biggest year yet!

The Tanzanian team carried out fieldwork to verify the need of each new scholar’s family. We found high poverty likelihoods, sometimes in entire villages. Many of the homes in need of TFFT’s help to support their children are single income or single parent households, sometimes affected by HIV/AIDs. Local government leaders are generally cooperative, and applaud TFFT for supporting MVCs. 

In Tanzania, cases of extreme poverty are overwhelming. At the moment, the need for support programs for MVCs exceed the capacity of TFFT. For this reason, we hope to continue our trend of growth each year to spread the reach of our organization to as many children and communities as possible. We hope that in time, our new strategy will allow for us to partner with Restless Development, an NGO working with Youth in Tanzania, to reach out to the Southern Highlands of Tanzania and Dar Es Salaam.

Many TFFT scholars come from families that lack documents, and our team faces challenges such as having to rely on verbal information. Many scholars’ families have difficulty remembering information about family history.

We at TFFT value community dialogue and collecting information about local leaders and families in the areas where our scholars come from. This is why it is important to start the process of scholar identification well in advance of the coming school year. In coming years, we hope to benefit MVCs through our Scholarship Program.

TFFT wishes to thank all sponsors who have continually supported this process. We have 15 new scholars waiting for sponsors. You can read more about joining TFFT as a sponsor here!