2020's Great Start... then COVID19

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DEAR FRIEND,

Five weeks ago, I flew back from Tanzania to the U.S. with fellow Board Member, Cocoa McGovern. Progress on so many fronts marked my visit. I met with nearly a dozen University Students returning home (to the KIWOCE Center), having completed their first semester; we moved forward on a better management structure for the KIWOCE Center; and we watched nearly 100 local teens participate in KIWOCE's academic coursework, weekend Boys and Girls Club activities and even the 2020 Kilimanjaro Marathon, 12K and 5K. EdPowerment was off to a positive start, marking our 10th year anniversary. Then I landed at JFK Airport, and the Corona floodgates opened.

Tanzania closed schools on March 17. No sooner had some of our students returned to school, than they had to turn around for home. Others, still completing their first semester exams, had to vacate immediately. KIWOCE (the Kilimahewa Center for Education that services local teens out of formal schools) closed. Yesterday, April 14, the government announced an indefinite extension of school closures.

What's the upshot?

For our University students:

Our university students face daunting obstacles to study at home- especially those who still must complete first semester exams. Our response: EdPowerment is providing solar lights, money for "data credits" for their local smartphones, and used computers on a select basis.
The presence of these young adults at home strains their families' ability to feed and otherwise provide for them. Our response: EdP is providing basic foodstuffs - cooking oil, rice, bean, sugar - and other vitals such as soap to those most in need.
This disruption can be such a setback for these young people for whom university studies offer their only security and path to a better life. Our response: Mary Munishi, our local program leader, has organized Whats App and other communication groups that offer a lifeline to their peers and a source of emotional and psychological support.

For KIWOCE Open School (Center):

EdPowerment is working with the School's Headmaster, Godlisten Malle, and other management to follow local developments and communicate vital COVID information not available in Tanzania.
We continue to support the Center financially, paying staff salaries and security, but the Center is not generating any more fee income. Earlier this year, we completed some critical special projects - see below.
The Center's staff is distributing to and collecting study packets from students in the village, trying every strategy to keep these youth engaged. We are circulating books from the library so all students can still read and learn on their own.

COVID's impact on Tanzania is just emerging. Economic fallout has begun as the tourist industry falters. Imports are cut off, businesses are now closing and a dry planting season further threatens local agriculture. Beyond the economic, COVID's impact on the population's health is just starting to unfold. The country has only ONE testing center in DAR and virtually no reliable information. While schools were closed, other parts of society were not - including gatherings at churches and funerals. Fear grips much of the population.

WE ARE ONE. EdPowerment will do everything in its power to assist our young people and local staff as this crisis continues to unfold.

ASANTE SANA.

Ino, Jackson, Samwel and Nemes - Four of our University young men: a future accountant, doctor, lawyer and businessman!

Mary (front) and Vero (back), a former student and now KIWOCE teacher, anchor some of our university young women, now back home.

AT KIWOCE

A special donation at the end of 2019 allowed EdPowerment to fund this incinerator that can accommodate the additional refuse from the girls Hostel and increased student attendance. Responsible waste management remains an important issue in Tanzania, where garbage still is burned in open air. This incinerator allows KIWOCE to demonstrate proper methods and awareness of taking care of the environment to both its students and community.

New tables and benches were also facilitated by the targeted 2019 donation. These help to accomodate a student body of over 100 at KIWOCE's secondary equivalency courses and many more who attend other special programs.

A local business/farmer association (SACCOS),the Bidii Saving & Credit Community Group, meet in one of the study huts at KIWOCE to discuss their challenges and pool their resources. Bank credit carries an exorbitant interest rate, making these groups vital for locals to produce more income.

EdPowerment and Dickson, a teacher with a love of sports and running, have come up with ways for the teens to play futbol at nearby school fields, and sometimes against these schools. SO IMPORTANT!

Strategizing about all kinds of challenges with our University students - each sharing his or her stories. These young people have been with us for many years. They have grown up together; overcome many obstacles; and will make it to the finish line. We do all we can to make that happen. Ultimately they are the ones in the arena.

FINALLY, COVID ON THIS SIDE.

AS SOME OF YOU KNOW, OUR ANNUAL NYC SOULCYCLE FUNDRAISER, ORGANIZED BY BOARD MEMBER, STACEY LAUREN, NORMALLY TAKES PLACE THIS MONTH. THE LAST TWO YEARS, THIS EVENT HAS GENERATED OVER $30,000, A SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF OUR ANNUAL $200,000 BUDGET. WE HOPE THIS KEY EVENT WILL HAPPEN LATER THIS YEAR.

RECOGNIZING THAT SO MANY OF US - AND OUR FAMILIES - FACE FINANCIAL CONSTRICTIONS, MAYBE EVEN UNEMPLOYMENT, IT IS AWKWARD TO APPEAL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS. AT THE SAME TIME, YOUNG PEOPLE WHO RELY ON OUR PROGRAMS HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE. IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT US IN THE MONTHS AHEAD.

THANK YOU. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES, YOUR LOVED ONES AND YOUR COMMUNITY.

DONATE

We leave you with a photo from this year's Boys and Girls Club. KIWOCE shares it resources every Saturday with village teens who come together to learn life skills from health professionals, community leaders and local businesspeople, and simply enjoy recreational and other activities. Here the KIWOCE students and teachers introduce their government school peers, who have never used a computer before, to the world of IT.