Why We Are Here

In 2010, after reading the book Half The Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, I found the small, recently started NGO called Give A Heart to Africa on the internet and decided in a leap of faith to get involved.  My life was changed forever.  I started by sponsoring a couple of GHTA students, Neema and Gloria, so they could go to secondary school.  Last November I traveled to Moshi, Tanzania to volunteer at GHTA and also to meet Neema and Gloria. It was an amazing experience to volunteer and to meet the wonderful students as well as all the people in the GHTA family.  I decided while I was there that I wanted to come back to see the students and for Dave to experience what GHTA is all about.

Of course, the number one reason I am involved in GHTA is because of the students.  Words cannot describe how rewarding it is to spend time with these incredibly strong and smart people.  The lives they lead are difficult in ways that those of us lucky enough to be born in a developed country cannot even imagine.  I wish I could help them all but unfortunately that's not possible :-(

One of the students in this GHTA class with the most potential and one of the hardest lives is Jesca.   She is 20 years old and her parents did not have enough money to allow her to finish secondary school.  She lives in a very small house with her parents and no electricity. She is extremely bright, one of the best students in the entire class.  She dreams of becoming an accountant one day. Without continuing her education she will end up spending her life as a house girl (maid) or selling used clothes on the street. She is an unbelievable sweetheart as you can probably tell from the smile she has in the picture below. We are hoping that someone will step up and sponsor Jesca so she can realize her dream.

Jesca and me

Most of the GHTA students are older than Jesca and want to start small businesses so that they can provide for their families and pay their children's school fees. When I was at GHTA last year I met a former GHTA student named Miraji. He graduated a couple of classes back and always had a dream of opening his own music store.  Monika told him that if he wanted a sponsor he needed to come up with a business plan.  A few months later he came to Monika with the plan, I said I would sponsor him, and today he is the proud owner of his own music store, King Music. Dave and I visited the store today and met Miraji's lovely family.  He says business is good (he says he thinks his competition is afraid!). Definitely a success story!

Dave, me, and Miraji with his wife and daughter in his new music store.