Donation protected
7 years ago during a school trip to Tanzania, I had the privilege of meeting Tanzanian safari guide Maggie Simbeye (who I would later learn to refer to as Mama Maggie because of her loving nature).
I learned that not only is Mama Maggie one of the few female tour guides in Tanzania, but the founder of the DARE Women's Foundation. The DARE Women’s Foundation empowers women across Tanzania who have endured tragedies such as rape, discrimination, domestic violence, and who deal with problems ranging from lack of femine hygiene care to little nutrition and education.
Mama Maggie is one of the strongest, most positive, tenacious and ambitious human beings that I have met in my life. Despite the hardships she has endured, she spreads infectious joy and happiness wherever she goes, and is grounded by a deep faith in the goodness of others. She has inspired me and hundreds of other individuals to make a change in our world however we can. Today, I ask for your help to support Mama Maggie in buying her own car as she continues her mission to bring positive change to as many lives as she can touch.
Who is Mama Maggie?
Mama Maggie is the Founder of the DARE Women’s Foundation in Tanzania, and the owner and operator of Maggie’s Tour Company, the first women operated tour company in Tanzania. Maggie shares her love for nature and helping those in need, and has dedicated her life to this passion of providing for others.
Her personal commitment to help others in the communities she encountered working as a guide, plus growing up in Tanzania, energized her to create the Dare Women’s Foundation in 2013, something she had been working toward since 2005. The Dare Women’s Foundation is a local NGO working to empower Tanzanian women and girls, with a focus on rural areas, through poverty alleviation, economic empowerment and gender equality. Maggie and the volunteers she manages are currently working on several projects related to conservation education, creating reusable sanitary pads, entrepreneurship, micro-loans, nutrition education and education advocacy for all children.
In Maggie’s own words “I believe in four pillars of life: Gratitude, Love, Abundance and Compassion. I know that each and every one of us can make a difference in someone’s life if we reach out to others from these first three and extend compassion to everyone we meet. One person can make a difference! I have experienced this and take action to make a difference where I can.”
What problems is she facing?
Maggie’s everyday life involves travelling to different villages, schools, and communities in Tanzania to educate and empower women and children across the country. However she does not have access to a stable vehicle to do so. Instead, she relies on men to help her travel to where she needs to be.This imposes a severe limitation, as the interests of men often do not correlate with the interests of empowering women to become independent from their husbands. This results in her getting access to over priced or broken cars that are preventing her from reaching her noble goal. She also tries to avoid public buses due to the large number of people and limited space, and breathing becomes an issue especially with the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maggie works alongside Nishael, an Occupational Therapist at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre. Nishael is one of the many doctors and educators who are paid less despite all of the important work they do, therefore the lack of adequate compensation for Maggie and Nishael has created a roadblock in their abilities to reach villages further from home and this places limitations on their overall impact.
How can your donations help?
Your donations would go directly towards purchasing a vehicle for Mama Maggie that is large enough to cater to her tour company, and is functional for travelling in the rural villages through the extreme drought they are facing. The people Mama Maggie helps are experiencing severe hunger and malnutrition, so the vehicle would be large enough to carry enough supplies and resources to efficiently distribute into villages.
Mama Maggie is looking to buy a 2009 Large Toyota Landcruiser which costs 36,664 USD to buy new and 20,704 to buy used, including the expensive taxes and additional fees imposed in Tanzania.
Despite starting off with very little, Mama Maggie has dedicated her life to giving women in Tanzania a voice and supporting them in their endeavors. However, there is only so much she can do on her own. We ask for your financial support, no matter how big or small, to help Mama Maggie buy her car as she strives to change Tanzania one woman at a time.
We are so grateful for your interest in donating and for supporting Mama Maggie’s story. If you have any questions or would like to speak with us or Mama Maggie directly, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Thank you so much,
- Kiana and Mimi
I learned that not only is Mama Maggie one of the few female tour guides in Tanzania, but the founder of the DARE Women's Foundation. The DARE Women’s Foundation empowers women across Tanzania who have endured tragedies such as rape, discrimination, domestic violence, and who deal with problems ranging from lack of femine hygiene care to little nutrition and education.
Mama Maggie is one of the strongest, most positive, tenacious and ambitious human beings that I have met in my life. Despite the hardships she has endured, she spreads infectious joy and happiness wherever she goes, and is grounded by a deep faith in the goodness of others. She has inspired me and hundreds of other individuals to make a change in our world however we can. Today, I ask for your help to support Mama Maggie in buying her own car as she continues her mission to bring positive change to as many lives as she can touch.
Who is Mama Maggie?
Mama Maggie is the Founder of the DARE Women’s Foundation in Tanzania, and the owner and operator of Maggie’s Tour Company, the first women operated tour company in Tanzania. Maggie shares her love for nature and helping those in need, and has dedicated her life to this passion of providing for others.
Her personal commitment to help others in the communities she encountered working as a guide, plus growing up in Tanzania, energized her to create the Dare Women’s Foundation in 2013, something she had been working toward since 2005. The Dare Women’s Foundation is a local NGO working to empower Tanzanian women and girls, with a focus on rural areas, through poverty alleviation, economic empowerment and gender equality. Maggie and the volunteers she manages are currently working on several projects related to conservation education, creating reusable sanitary pads, entrepreneurship, micro-loans, nutrition education and education advocacy for all children.
In Maggie’s own words “I believe in four pillars of life: Gratitude, Love, Abundance and Compassion. I know that each and every one of us can make a difference in someone’s life if we reach out to others from these first three and extend compassion to everyone we meet. One person can make a difference! I have experienced this and take action to make a difference where I can.”
What problems is she facing?
Maggie’s everyday life involves travelling to different villages, schools, and communities in Tanzania to educate and empower women and children across the country. However she does not have access to a stable vehicle to do so. Instead, she relies on men to help her travel to where she needs to be.This imposes a severe limitation, as the interests of men often do not correlate with the interests of empowering women to become independent from their husbands. This results in her getting access to over priced or broken cars that are preventing her from reaching her noble goal. She also tries to avoid public buses due to the large number of people and limited space, and breathing becomes an issue especially with the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maggie works alongside Nishael, an Occupational Therapist at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre. Nishael is one of the many doctors and educators who are paid less despite all of the important work they do, therefore the lack of adequate compensation for Maggie and Nishael has created a roadblock in their abilities to reach villages further from home and this places limitations on their overall impact.
How can your donations help?
Your donations would go directly towards purchasing a vehicle for Mama Maggie that is large enough to cater to her tour company, and is functional for travelling in the rural villages through the extreme drought they are facing. The people Mama Maggie helps are experiencing severe hunger and malnutrition, so the vehicle would be large enough to carry enough supplies and resources to efficiently distribute into villages.
Mama Maggie is looking to buy a 2009 Large Toyota Landcruiser which costs 36,664 USD to buy new and 20,704 to buy used, including the expensive taxes and additional fees imposed in Tanzania.
Despite starting off with very little, Mama Maggie has dedicated her life to giving women in Tanzania a voice and supporting them in their endeavors. However, there is only so much she can do on her own. We ask for your financial support, no matter how big or small, to help Mama Maggie buy her car as she strives to change Tanzania one woman at a time.
We are so grateful for your interest in donating and for supporting Mama Maggie’s story. If you have any questions or would like to speak with us or Mama Maggie directly, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Thank you so much,
- Kiana and Mimi
Co-organizers (2)
Kiana D
Organizer
Oakville, ON
Miraal Kabir
Co-organizer