December 27, 2019
As 2019 comes to a close, we wanted to take this chance to reflect on the ways in which you’ve made it possible for The Foundation For Tomorrow to continue to grow! 2019 was another busy year of impact and sustainable change.
In 2019, over 245 teachers participated in our Teacher Training Program, impacting 12,576 students in total. We supported 105 scholars with our Scholarship Program. This year, we had zero school dropouts. 24 scholars (10 in primary and 14 in secondary education) successfully completed their level of study, 6 scholars proceeded to college, while 2 others proceeded to advanced level studies. We, in partnership with The Lunch Project, fed 4,407 students, boosting attendance rates and improving learning outcomes. We secured birth certificates for our scholars and distributed allowance. We invested in teachers by awarding ten outstanding teachers with Teacher of Distinction Awards. We worked closely with parents and guardians with our Positive Parenting workshops and we improved the conditions in schools with our Child’s Rights Trainings. Collectively, we made progress in combating vulnerability through the power of education and improved the educational landscape of Tanzania. To learn more details about our work in 2019, please read our blog.
Window into our World:
This year we learned that 71% of Americans consider it very important to trust a charity before giving, only 19% say that they highly trust charities, and only 10% of Americans are optimistic that the sector will become more trustworthy over time. In order to ensure that our supporters are confident in our work, TFFT committed to transparency and offered a ‘Window into our World’ by providing insight into what it truly takes to carry out our mission and strive towards our vision.
Share the Love:
We kicked off the new year with our annual Share the Love campaign. This campaign seeks to engage and energize TFFT’s supporters to creatively share TFFT’s story with their network and to generate support through online fundraising. We are grateful for the participants that served as TFFT’s ambassadors and advocated on our behalf. To learn more about our leaders, click here!
Annual Fund:
Our Annual Fund is the campaign that funds the operational costs that make it possible for TFFT to operate. The Annual Fund keeps the lights on, provides paper and stamps for all correspondences, as well as the office space for our teams in Charlotte and Tanzania to work. In order to bring our operating costs to life, our Annual Fund focused on what it takes to keep TFFT up and running day-to-day. We provided a receipt that helped our supporters understand the true costs. Thank you to all who made it possible for us to keep the lights on in 2019.
Lunch and Learn:
To raise awareness in our community and educate interested individuals about TFFT, we hosted a Lunch and Learn event in Charlotte in 2019. This luncheon was well-received and we are grateful that it resulted in a number of fruitful relationships, creating a network of advocates and ambassadors of our work.
New Country Director: Thabo
This year we said goodbye to our incredible Country Director of three years, Melissa Queyquep, and welcomed Thabisani Ncube. Thabo’s remarkable vision for TFFT is inspiring and we continue to grow stronger under his direction as he both builds on Melissa’s legacy and introduces new ideas and initiatives.
Team TFFT:
In 2019, Team TFFT athletes delivered on their promise to combat vulnerability through the power of education in service through sport. We are grateful for our athlete’s commitment to impact. In multiple events, including the Chicago Marathon, the NYC Half Marathon, the Kilimanjaro Half Marathon, and the NYC Marathon, TFFT athletes pushed themselves to their limits to make miles matter.
In May, Team TFFT hosted our first-ever Kickball Tournament in Charlotte to allow local supporters to get involved with Team TFFT closer to home. This tournament was a great opportunity to spread the word about Team TFFT in the Charlotte community and bring awareness to our cause. To those who joined us, thank you for your support. If you’d like to join us this year, click here to learn more!
Tyler in Tanzania:
We were incredibly lucky to have Tyler Wohlford of The Halle Project, good friend, photographer, and videographer, visit us in Tanzania to work his magic and capture footage of TFFT’s work. Tyler’s photographs and videos provided us with content for 2019’s Window into Our World theme. Tyler captured behind the scenes footage of our boundary partners and created amazing videos that help us bring our work to life, including this virtual reality video.
Learning Centre update:
On May 8th, we signed the title deeds for the Learning Centre, bringing us one step closer to meeting Tanzanian learners where they are and opening a world of opportunity for our community. The Learning Centre represents excellence in opportunity and we are excited to make this centre a reality. Stay tuned as we make more progress in the new year!
Vision Trip:
TFFT is surrounded by the love and support of people from all over the world who have been influenced by TFFT and our community in unique ways over the past 13 years. This year’s September Vision Trip consisted of both long-time supporters and people who were entirely new to TFFT. We are excited for all participants to have experienced this trip, and are particularly excited for those new to TFFT to now share an intimate connection with our team, our scholars, and our work more broadly. Sean Redington, a Vision Trip participant, reflected, “Seeing the direct impact that TFFT has on the lives of these children has truly inspired me to do more.”
TFFT 2019 Vision Trip
While in Tanzania, the Vision Trip participants attended graduation. This year we celebrated the graduation of nearly twenty TFFT scholars. Education unlocks opportunity and agency that can change the trajectory of an individual’s life. Almost 70% of children ages 14-17 are not enrolled in secondary school, a high percentage of out of school children. We are proud to have offered this educational opportunity to our scholars and are thrilled about their successes and achievements. The graduation milestone represents promise for a bright future and we are excited to watch our graduates continue to shine.
Partnership with The Lunch Project:
Beginning in the first quarter of 2019, TFFT began serving as the on-the-ground distribution partner in and around Arusha for the Feed and Learn Project, delivering food that fed 4,407 students at schools across Arusha served by The Lunch Project (TLP). The value of this project cannot be understated. According to a 2018 report by USAID, 16% of Tanzanian children under the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition – that’s 3.3 million children. Malnutrition not only stunts a child’s growth, but impacts their ability to learn. By offering a meal to students, schools attract learners to the classroom and give them the nutrition they need to grow as well as focus in the classroom. To learn more about this 2019 partnership, click here.
Teacher of Distinction Awards:
On October 12th we hosted TFFT’s annual Teacher of Distinction Award Ceremony in Arusha. One of the greatest challenges that Tanzanian teachers face is lack of encouragement and incentives to grow and hone their craft. TFFT’s Whole Child approach includes taking stock in the teachers that make learning possible for our scholars. The TFFT Teacher of Distinction Award is part of our commitment to improve and transform the conditions within the wider learning environment. Quality teachers are crucial to overcome some of the persistent barriers to the equal access of education across the globe. TFFT believes that teacher quality is one of the greatest determinants of student learning and achievement, both inside and outside of the classroom. The Teacher of Distinction Award is one-of-a-kind in Tanzania and is part and parcel of the improvement of teacher education in Tanzania.
13th Annual S.O.S Gala:
Thank you for making this year’s S.O.S. Gala a massive success! The Foundation For Tomorrow raised over $225,000, which is record breaking and more than we have ever raised at the S.O.S. Gala before! It was spectacular to witness the incredible community that has grown out of our shared belief and passion to provide quality education to Tanzania’s most vulnerable children. TFFT was reminded once again about how our collective effort magnifies our ability to affect change. To those of you who were part of our Gala this year, your support goes a long way in supporting our vision to provide equitable access to quality education for all children. Each and every dollar that we raised will have profound impact on the fulfillment of The Foundation For Tomorrow’s mission to combat vulnerability through the power of education.
Pit Latrine Project
In honor of World Toilet Day on November 19th, TFFT, in partnership with WaterBridge International, handed over a toilet block to Sinon Primary School in Arusha. Lack of sanitation hampers the right to education and inadequate school sanitation facilities are a common barrier to school attendance, especially for girls. At the ceremony, Thabo, TFFT’s Country Director, reported, “Without access to these basic human rights, the entire development agenda, stretching across health, nutrition, education, and equality is at risk. We are elated at our collective efforts to expand access to sanitation resources.” We are proud to have partnered with WaterBridge Outreach and our boundary partners to provide access to clean water and proper toilet facilities for students at Sinon Primary School. To learn more, click here.
Giving Tuesday:
December 3rd is Giving Tuesday, a day that encourages people to do good by contributing to a cause they believe in. This year, we sold beautiful handmade pouches from TFFT alum, Agnes, raising over $3,500. After an outpouring of donations, we are well on our way to providing school supplies for our scholars for 2020, making quality education accessible for more students. These critical resources, such as textbooks, allowances, mosquito nets, shoes, and much more make it possible for our scholars to optimize their educational opportunities and experiences. We continue to be amazed by the generosity and compassion of our TFFT family and are proud of what we can achieve together as a result.
Family Day:
Family Day is an annual TFFT tradition. It offers a rare chance for all scholars, staff, and guardians to come together to talk, play, review, connect, and celebrate all that has been accomplished in the TFFT Family in 2019. Family Day offers the chance for our team to offer support and guidance to parents and guardians on how to best support their child’s academic trajectory. We also take this chance to celebrate the achievements of scholars, staff, and parents and guardians. On Family Day, we also provided a warm welcome to the families of the six new scholars that we are welcoming to our Scholarship Program this year. It was wonderful to welcome six new scholars: Ange, Augustine, Sanare, Saitoti, Omari, and Gace. The scholars and their families were all excited, hopeful, and a bit nervous about the educational opportunity that lies ahead. We look forward to helping these delightful young scholars the opportunity to learn and grow over the twelve years that they will be in our care.
Thank you to all who made it possible for us to combat vulnerability through the power of education. We continue to grow stronger with your investment in our mission. For a special message of thanks from TFFT’s Country Director, Thabo, click here.
