Brighter Tanzania Foundation

To those unfamiliar with the seasons in Tanzania, it might seem strange to see students wearing parkas and hats! “But isn’t Africa hot?!” Tanzania sits just south of the equator, meaning seasonal changes aren’t nearly as drastic as other places (like here in the midwestern United States), and from about May to October the country experiences a drier, cooler climate. Since Tanzanians are so accustomed to the hot, humid days of the rainy seasons, the 50-75 degree (10-24 Celsius) weather of the dry season feels cold by comparison!

Some of our youngest students, like Amina, are a little bit shy. Saving Grace teachers emphasize the importance of speaking in front of the class by having students come to the blackboard to show their knowledge. While some of the students eagerly jump at the chance to demonstrate their skills, the shy students can build confidence by pointing or showing answers with their hands.

Turns out, a lot of people don’t know they can sign up for monthly giving! Becoming a monthly donor is super easy: simply navigate to the donation page on our website, and click the Monthly button below your donation amount. You can easily change, pause, or cancel your donation with self service options. Click the link in our bio to get started!

One of our budget cutting measures to get us through this trying time was to reduce enrollment to 20. While this does increase the cost per student, it substantially decreased our budget overall. The other upside to decreased enrollment is the ability of teachers to provide more 1 on 1 learning with their students. This smile tells us the approach is working.

If our last post intrigued you but you thought to yourself, “I can’t afford to donate!” then consider volunteering with us! We are 100% volunteer based in the US - only our Tanzanian staff take home a paycheck. All of our current needs are listed on our page, but if you don’t see anything that works for you and have other time and skills you’d like to contribute, please feel free to reach out!

Late last year we sent a communication out to all of our email contacts letting them know that the future of BTF and Saving Grace School was untenable. Post-COVID inflation has hit everyone hard, and caused additional problems for funding the school.
Given our financial situation, we expected to only keep the school afloat through January 2024. However, after making some major budget cuts, we can continue operating through the end of our current lease, May 2024.
To keep the school open amidst these budget cuts, we need to raise $15,000 this year. That’s a huge task for an organization this small, but we trust that our wonderful donors and followers will help us out.
Please share our story with family, friends, and coworkers. You never know who might be interested.
Recurring donations can be set up through our website. Link is in our bio.
Thank you to everyone who has made the last 10 years possible. We truly couldn’t do this without you!

Meet sweet little Jackline! This gregarious little one loves being in front of the camera, and is a huge fan of high fives! We can’t wait to see where her sociable personality takes her.

Our website is getting a makeover!
Long time followers may recall that we switched to a new website about this time last year. However, with our focus on other things, updating the new website was put on the back burner. We’re so excited about the changes we’ll be making soon, and hope our followers will check it out when it’s ready!

Porridge time! Students get a breakfast of porridge at morning break every day to make sure their brains are ready to learn.

In an effort to provide stimulation both in and out of the classroom, we’ve made a bigger than usual effort this year to provide students with toys and equipment to keep them moving! Play is one of the most important factors in young children’s early development, aiding in coordination, spatial understanding, cooperation with others, and more. Iqram here gravitated to this new toy immediately because his favorite color is yellow. We hope he continues to enjoy his time outside of class!

Charming little Erick from baby class shows off one of the new books that was purchased last month. 😊

Long time sponsor, donor, and friend of the school, Cathy has been visiting the school this past week! As always, she brought her wonderful handmade hats for all the students, and spent some time helping teachers manage the little ones. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful supporter!