“If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation)”

– Swahili Proverb

Women’s education has been well documented as a vital means of improving the social and economic well-being of a nation. Unfortunately, girls in Tanzania face more challenges and barriers to education than boys. Many families are reluctant to allow their daughters to attend secondary school because of the financial burden – secondary school costs $300 per year in a country where the annual earnings for many are $360.  As a result, many girls are pushed into early marriage – as young as 11 or 12 years old.  Other girls that start secondary school, particularly those away from their parents, have no means of support and end up providing for their own school fees and living expenses through prostitution. As could be expected in this environment, unwanted pregnancy is a major cause of girls halting their education – and their future.

Realizing the overwhelming challenges facing girls in Tanzania, NTC raised $6,000.00 in 2008 to sponsor twenty girls for the entire 2009 year of schooling. The girls were identified by the female staff at Kwala Secondary School as being “at severe risk of dropping out of school.” The scholarships included school fees, two school uniforms, school materials, three meals a day, and a space in a safe, girls-only rooming house near the school. Each girl had an individual sponsor in the United States, who received letters and pictures from the girl they were sponsoring.

While eight of the twenty girls are set to graduate from Kwala Secondary School this year, still more assistance is needed for the twelve remaining girls who are struggling to continue their education.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored a girl for the 2009 school year! If you would like to become a sponsor for the 2010 school year, please Contact Us today!

NTC’s Girls Scholarship Project from NTC on Vimeo.