Beneficiaries: 71 students
Completion date: June 30, 2023
Country: Tanzania
Executive summary
As the world slowly makes its exit from the pandemic, education stands at the forefront of Compassion’s recovery efforts. We believe that every child deserves the right to pursue their God-given gifts and abilities and that training and releasing them as skilled workers who can serve and build their communities is a vital and needed investment. However, the reverse is also true: without education, children will not gain the skills they need to compete in the job market and improve their quality of life. Their potential is the future; if they don’t thrive, their communities won’t thrive either.
Providing children with access to education has always been a pillar of Compassion’s holistic development strategy; in the wake of COVID-19, it has become a pressing priority. Yet for the children and youth we are serving in Tanzania, extreme poverty remains a daunting obstacle. More than 40 per cent of Compassion’s 111,000+ beneficiaries in Tanzania are high school or college age and are facing critical decisions about their future. For these students, higher education is key to breaking free from poverty—but they just can’t afford it on their own. Tuition fees at colleges and universities are very high, and most students don’t have any financial support from their families. While the government in Tanzania provides some scholarship and loan programs, these are limited to university students and exclude anyone pursuing training at a college or vocational institute.
Three of our church partners in Iringa and Shinyanga, Tanzania, are asking for your help. More than half of their beneficiaries—a total of 71 students—need financial support to continue their education at college or university. While our partners have invested everything they can into supporting these students, they have had to bear the burden of students’ tuition fees and living expenses almost entirely on their own. Some students are enrolled in specialized courses such as medicine and law and their tuition fees are very high. Our partners want to help these students complete their studies and get good jobs—but they can’t do it alone.
This intervention will provide funding to cover tuition fees and living expenses for 71 students from three Compassion centres in Tanzania to pursue college, university or vocational studies in their area of interest. Knowing that their school finances are in order, students will be free to concentrate on their studies and complete their education so they are well equipped to earn good-paying jobs and lift themselves and their families out of poverty.
Summary
Did you know
UNICEF estimates that, without immediate intervention, the pandemic could cost this generation of students up to $21 trillion in potential lifetime earnings—17 per cent of today’s global GDP.
Background
Compassion partners with more than 500 churches in Tanzania across 21 regions to offer holistic care to thousands of children and young people in need. Three of the churches we are partnering with in the rural Iringa and Shinyanga areas have reached out for support with tuition fees and living expenses for 71 beneficiaries attending higher education at college or university. Students attending college or vocational training do not qualify for any government support, and those attending university who have been able to secure loans are still responsible for 20 to 50 per cent of their tuition. Until this point, churches have been using most of their budget to cover these costs for students. However, this has become unsustainable and is draining resources from other vital areas of their programming. Without external support, students may be forced to drop out of school. Our partners are also concerned that some students may attempt to pursue cheaper courses of study that are neither lucrative nor well-suited to their skills, and that this could end very poorly for them.
The need
Your financial gift will cover the tuition fees and living expenses for 71 students from rural Tanzania as they attend higher education at college or university. Your support will ensure that students can stay in school, complete their training successfully and enter the workforce with the skills they need to get good jobs. As students are enrolled in a variety of programs with some more expensive than others, financial support to each student will be distributed based on need and will vary. By helping these students with their expenses, you will also be alleviating the financial burden on our church partners, allowing them to reallocate their budget and distribute resources where they are needed. With the financial pressure lifted, students will be free to focus their energy on completing their studies. Your gift will enable students to pursue the skills that align with their interests and abilities, get good jobs and ultimately improve the quality of life for their families and communities.
What your gift will do
Your investment will cover tuition fees and living expenses for 71 students from three Compassion centres in Tanzania until June 30, 2023, including:
- 20 students from Anglican All Saints Ipogolo Student Centre (TZ0343)
- 24 students from PAG Mtwivila Student Centre (TZ0606)
- 27 students from Anglican Shinyanga Student Centre (TZ0336)
Logistics
- Local contribution: US$3,867.71
- Handling of funds: Compassion Tanzania will distribute funds and ensure that this intervention remains within budget.
- Monitoring and follow-up: Compassion Tanzania will assign two field-based partnership facilitators to monitor each student throughout the year and report back to an intervention specialist on their progress. Centre directors and tutors will stay in touch with students to ensure that their needs are being met and that they are progressing well in their studies.