In early 2018 I was travelling in Tanzania and made it up to Mambo, a remote part of the stunning Usambara mountains, where I met Hoza, Ally and Juma from Jamii Sawa, a small NGO who do an incredible job in the region running projects ranging from free computer classes to training midwives and nurses (the nearest clinic is a 2 hour drive away). One problem up here is family planning. It's common for a man to have a number of wives, each running her own household, and many men aren't able to provide for their children or send them all to school, and the schools can't cater for all the children in the area.

I was touched to my core hearing their stories about the work they do, and decided to start a school renovation project with them, which I sponsored myself. The aim was to refurbish in total 10 classrooms in four different schools. I stayed a few weeks to assist with the project planning and get it off the ground. After I left, Hoza, Ally and Juma persevered through battles with local politics, heavy rain, land slides etc etc and the project was finally completed- to budget!- in August. Photos and info here

Our next project is to built a new classroom in Nkukai primary school, where currently 90 student squeeze into each classroom and about 100 children have to sit outside due to lack of space. The school is located at the top of a mountain, so is particularly difficult to reach, and there is no running water, so water for the cement mixing will have to be brought up the hill in tanks. For this project we need a larger budget than previously, which is why I'm turning to you. Should you feel moved to help, and be able to, ANY contribution would be much appreciated and every penny donated will go directly and uniquely to the project. As soon as we have the necessary funds I will travel back to Mambo (at my own expense!) and get the project started. My hope is to have the classroom ready before the rain starts in April and makes the work a lot more challenging.

On completion of the project, each donor will receive a photo of the new classroom with a personal greeting from us involved, as well as our immense, eternal gratitude of course!

Please share this with anyone you know who might be interested in getting involved.

Thank you for your time!

Malin