Be the reason Jonitha goes to school

As many of you know, I spent the last 2 months volunteering at Uru Community Pre and Primary School (founded by Neema International) in Uru, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Most of my time was dedicated to the Nursery class (3-4 year olds), and there I met Jonitha and decided to start sponsoring her.

In Tanzania, primary school begins in Class 1 for 7 year olds. Aside from expensive private institutions, there are no options for kids under the age of 7 to attend school - and this looks drastically different than it would in many of (y)our communities. Jonitha, as well as her classmates, are from the village of Uru, where 7,000 people live in extreme poverty with no electricity or running water. Before school, these kids had never been read a book, seen a movie/play, or done anything artistic. Because Jonitha is 3 years old, without sponsorship/Neema, she wouldn’t be able to attend school for another 4 years. Now, she can recite the alphabet and numbers 1-40, and she’s learning to write and draw.

Government schools (what we call public in the US) - the type Jonitha would attend without Neema - have horrendous faculty to student ratios, poor curriculums, very few resources, under qualified teachers, and they subject students to corporal punishment. Children often need to travel long distances to school by foot, and although government schools are technically free, additional costs for uniform and supplies make school inaccessible for many. Due to these conditions, 70% of kids drop out after primary (Class 7 at around 13). Of the 30% who continue to secondary school (Form 1-4), only 3% will go to high school (“A levels” Form 5 & 6 - like 11th and 12th grade). Female students are especially vulnerable to dropping out of primary, secondary, or high school due to pregnancy, as 25% of Tanzanian’s girls begin giving birth before 18.

This is Jonitha’s reality. I want her to go to school at Uru Community Pre and Primary, where she’ll get a high-quality English education and social services in order to break the cycle of poverty for her family. Sponsoring a preschooler costs $1,300 per year, and it covers their food, clothes, private education, school supplies, books, home visits, medical insurance, and more.

My hope and plan is to sponsor Jonitha for the foreseeable future. After graduating primary school (Class 7), from Uru Community School, she will continue to be sponsored to attend high quality private boarding institutions in Tanzania and hopefully college/university.

If you made it to here, thank you for reading this, and I hope you will consider donating - every dollar counts and goes directly to Jonitha. Jonitha is a playful kid and a conscientious student at the young age of 3. My 19th birthday is soon- I don’t need a gift. What I want this year is to put Jonitha through school. I know with this sponsorship, she is capable of doing and pursuing anything she sets her mind to.