Two years ago, I traveled to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro. After the climb, I stayed in Moshi for nearly three months. A week after that climb, I was introduced to the community of Majengo on the outskirts of town. That evening, I was sitting outside Mama D’s shop, hanging out with my friends and studying Swahili. A group of about eight kids surrounded me, eager to learn English. I had such a fun time with them that I returned a few days later with my notebook. Two weeks later, we had started a little English class. I had bought a small whiteboard, and we were meeting two to three times a week to study together. By the time my first trip was ending, I had 18 kids showing up regularly, and they were the best students I had ever had!

These classes were so rewarding that I was hooked! I went back to Florida, saved money to continue the program, and started Maisha Nyota charity to raise funds to continue these English classes and the meal program I had started when I found out how little actual nutrition these kids were getting.

Over the past two years, this program grew. By the end of my second stay in Tanzania, I had 50 kids coming to my after-school program regularly. At the moment, we provide education, weekly meals, shoes, and school uniforms for 65+ kids.

However, we have one major obstacle. We hold these classes in the courtyard of Mama D’s property. We have no shade from the burning sun, so we have to start classes as the sun is going down, and during the rainy season, we often have to cancel class.

My goal for 2026 is to be able to purchase a small plot of land in Majengo, near Mama D’s, and build a covered outdoor classroom and a small shed for a kitchen for the Mamas to cook meals more than once a week. The cost of the land and the building is about $15,000. This building would also allow us to have a small library and to eventually build a small computer room to give these kids the chance of one day going to college.