Project TEMBOEducating and empowering girls and women is our focus, and our project work involving education sponsorship, microbusiness and informal education is described throughout this site.Tanzania Education and Micro-Business OpportunityTEMBO_ed416f2b-fece-11e5-812b-187a87122820Project TEMBO in Canada is a registered Canadian Charity which raises funds for the work of TEMBO and is accountable for their use in Canada and Tanzania. It operates entirely by volunteers.TEMBO TrustTEMBO Trust is a registered trusteeship in Tanzania which is responsible for the implementation of the programs funded by Project TEMBO.TanzaniaFor many people in northern Tanzania, providing an education for their children is a 'luxury' they simply cannot afford. TEMBO raises money to provide sponsorship for girls and young women to attend secondary, vocational and teacher training programs. We also raise funds to provide academic enrichment programs for girls that make academic success a real possibility. Maasai WomenIn the Maasai culture, women have limited rights and very few opportunities for employment outside of the home. Many women want to send their children to school but do not have the funds to do so. TEMBO has raised start-up funds for a micro business program to lend money to women in Longido for projects such as raising goats for milk and meat; raising chickens and selling eggs in the village; and producing and marketing handcrafted beadwork. In Kimokouwa and Oldorko Village the situation is different. People live a traditional Maasai lifestyle. Micro-finance loans do not work in these settings because there are no markets for buying or selling goods. As a result, TEMBO funds have been used to begin goat projects to provide income for the women and milk for their families.Longido DistrictTEMBO also raises funds to support Learning in Longido (LIL), a joint project with Longido District to deliver informal education programs to the entire community. One of the major responsibilities of LIL is to manage the Longido District Learning Centre.Jo MarchantIn 1998 TEMBO founders Jo Marchant and Marian Roks travelled to Kimokouwa village in northern Tanzania to visit a young girl they were sponsoring. Following return visits in 1999 and 2003, and after meeting with community leaders, teachers and local residents in Longido and Kimokouwa, they formalized a commitment to the people in Longido and Kimokouwa by establishing the Tanzania Education and Micro-Business Opportunity (TEMBO.) In January 2005, TEMBO became a registered Canadian charity (#856825872RR0001).Marian RoksTEMBO DonorsIn Canada, TEMBO is supported by donors coast-to-coast. Each year, TEMBO hosts an annual luncheon in Ottawa, coordinates signature fundraising events and supports individuals who raise money in their local communities on behalf of TEMBO. TEMBO keeps supporters informed through regular newsletters and social media outlets.TEMBO BoardTEMBO is governed by a voluntary Board and all of its work is carried out by volunteers.The current Board Members are:Arlene McKechniePresidentMelissa ClarkVice-PresidentVirginia TaylorTreasurerMaureen LawSecretaryDonna SerafiniMember-at-Large... educating for equal opportunities in northern Tanzania._ed416f2c-fece-11e5-812b-187a87122820To raise awareness and funds to support our Tanzanian partners in providing educational and micro business opportunities for girls and women._ed416f2d-fece-11e5-812b-187a87122820Girls' Education_ed416f2e-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228201TEMBO currently sponsors 94 girls for secondary school education in northern Tanzania.Secondary School EducationSponsor girls for secondary school education._ed416f2f-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228201.1TEMBO's commitment to secondary school education is at the heart of our mission. Each year, before the school year starts, a local Parents Committee considers requests for sponsorship of girls from Longido District.In 2016, Canadian donors are sponsoring 94 girls in 8 different secondary schools.All students are required to have a uniform, trunk, mattress, bedding and school supplies. In addition, TEMBO provides adolescent girls with toiletries such as soap, shoe polish and pads. At TEMBO, we also provide the girls with syllabus books and a dictionary. Before school begins in January, TEMBO staff help the girls to get ready. They shop for pink pillows and sheets, blankets, school shoes, shirts and pens, pencils and notebooks. Each girl must go to the tailor to be measured for her skirt and a matching sweater and tie must be purchased according to the school colours. As of January 2016, it costs TEMBO approximately $350 to outfit a girl for Form 1.Post Secondary & Vocational TrainingProvide vocational training._ed416f5c-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228201.2Leah KisambiTEMBO's Library Coordinator, Leah Kisambi, is a graduate of the Community Development program.Nusra HusseinNusra Hussein, Head Chef at the TEMBO Guesthouse, is a Hotel Management graduate.Since 2004 the number of girls considered for vocational training has increased significantly. As of January 2016, 47 girls have graduated from a vocational training program including hotel management, tour guide training, community development or tailoring.Having completed their vocational training, graduates often look for employment in the local community. Teacher TrainingPrepare new teachers._ed417006-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228201.3TEMBO’s education program also includes preparing new teachers. Since 2004, TEMBO has sponsored more than 46 young women to become teachers. Most graduates find work in rural areas where class size can be as high as 125 students at the primary level.English CampProvide girls with a positive and supportive English-language learning environment._ed4170ba-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228201.4TEMBO English Camp (TEC) -- The TEMBO English Camp (TEC) is a program for sponsored girls attending secondary school. Offered to girls during their long break from school (June-July) TEC seeks to provide girls age 13-17 with a positive and supportive English-language learning environment where the girls can develop basic language skills required for their school studies. In addition, the program works to foster confidence and self-esteem, everyday life skills and healthy lifestyle choices.Over a course of three weeks, the program provides a safe and healthy living environment for the participants. The girls stay in a hostel owned and operated by a community group in Longido. Here they can enjoy the camaraderie of sharing a room with friends, exchanging clothes, talking and then whispering as night falls, and just being ‘girls’. Girls take responsibility for housekeeping duties and are encouraged to take care of their rooms and shared communal spaces.The program was first offered in 2010 to 33 girls in Form 1 and 2. Given the success of the pilot program, TEMBO Trust decided to include TEC as part of its ongoing programming and and expand the scope to include girls in Form 3. Since then, the program has been offered on an annual basis with more than 60 girls participating.PASS ProgramProvide girls with an academic boost in math and sciences, as well as support for the development of English language and literacy skills._ed4177a4-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228201.5Girls in Longido DistrictPrimary AND Secondary SUCCESS! (PASS) -- PASS is 10-week educational program for girls in Longido District who have completed primary school and are anxiously awaiting acceptance to secondary school. Working in partnership with local Tanzania teachers, the program provides girls (ages 12-15) with an academic boost in math and sciences, as well as support for the development of English language and literacy skills.In the morning, the girls focus extensively on the development of their English language skills. For many of the girls, English is their third language and they need an opportunity to develop their oral and written communication skills, so that they might be able do well in their secondary school studies where English is the language of instruction. One of the highlights for the girls each week is the opportunity for them to visit the Longido Library where they can browse and borrow fiction and non-fiction books.During the afternoon, local Tanzanian teachers provide an introduction to the units of study that the girls will be exploring in Form 1 of secondary school. Over the course of 10 weeks, the girls have an opportunity to develop their knowledge of math, biology, geography and physics. To support their studies, TEMBO provides the girls with copies of math and English textbooks as well as dictionaries. The PASS program also provides the girls with a safe, protected environment at a time when they are particularly vulnerable. They complete the Primary School Leaving Exam in September and then wait at home for secondary school to begin four months later in January. This is a time when many young girls are forced into early marriages and are pregnant soon after. PASS provides accommodation and supervision for the girls for the 10-week period. In addition, TEMBO provides nutritious meals prepared by local women.Community FacilitationProvides information in support of TEMBO's work._ed417830-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228201.6Mary LaiserCommunity Facilitator, TEMBO TrustMary Laiser, a local Maasai woman, is TEMBO's Community Facilitator. Mary provides information that is both practical and important to the work TEMBO is doing. It is information that is not included in the school curriculum. TEMBO has helped Mary develop lesson plans around a series of books put out by the United Nations. This series, The Sara Club, is designed to teach girls to know their rights, value education, be pro-active, have good relationships with boys, and avoid dangers such as FGM (female genital mutilation) and HIV/AIDS. The books were written with girls in mind but Mary has adapted the content to include information important to boys, too, since they have requested to be part of the weekly classes. Mary offers these classes four days a week at both the primary and secondary school level in Longido and Kimokouwa.Mary believes it is imperative that the adults know what she is teaching the children. She conducts sessions with the parents of TEMBO sponsored students and reaches more families through the women in the micro-finance groups. Mary uses every opportunity to include the village and tribal leaders in her classes.Micro-Business OpportunitiesMake small loans to marginalized women. _ed417831-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228202Women in Longido VillageIn 2010, 70 women in Longido village received 2nd and 3rd loans of $300.00 each. Another 30 women received 1st loans of $150.00. The women work together in groups to support each other and to see that the loans are repaid on time. Some of their small businesses include: operating a canteen, selling “local brew”, running a pharmacy, selling chickens and eggs, selling market vegetables, selling used clothes, selling fabric, and selling goats in the auction.Kimokouwa VillageReceiving micro-finance loans to begin small businesses does not work well in Kimokouwa village. Kimokouwa is a community that still lives a very traditional way of life. The men herd goats and cattle and the women raise the children and take care of the boma. Still the women are poor and are expected to provide everything for their families including food, fuel for cooking, clothing, and child care.To help these women TEMBO provides direct micro-business opportunities that do not involve loans. One program trains some women to use better bead making techniques so their products can be competitive with products produced in the city. TEMBO then seeks markets to sell their bead work.Small loans have a significant impact in the lives of marginalized women. TEMBO currently has over 80 women in a micro-finance loan program and supports two goat projects in very traditional communities...Small loans make a very big positive difference in the lives of poor women who, otherwise, have no income of their own. Many of the women who receive loans from TEMBO are single mothers struggling to raise children on their own. They are also women wanting to contribute to the education of their children in the future._ed417998-fece-11e5-812b-187a87122820Learning CentreProvide education programs for members of the Longido District community._ed417a74-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228203Longido DistrictLongido Community LibraryTEMBO set up the Longido Community Library in 2006. Prior to that, very little written material was available to the villagers. The majority of books in the library are written in English but an ever-growing selection of Swahili books is being included. At the request of students and teachers, multiple sets of curriculum books have been included in the collection...Because the library has become popular with pre-school children and students of all ages, including adults involved in self-study efforts to attain secondary school qualifications, we have recently expanded to three rooms -- one for the youngest children, one for students and adults and another for quiet study.Leah KisambuThe library is run by Leah Kisambu ...Judith Mollel... assisted by Judith Mollel.Longido District Learning CentreWe are working to support the community in developing the Longido District Learning Centre. It will accommodate our library and other Learning in Longido programs and will also provide a venue for other community groups to carry out similar important initiatives. This Centre will belong to the community, but we will help to build it and to support its early programming. We have established a local Advisory Committee to guide its development.On February 7 2014, we signed an agreement with the community that sets the stage for beginning the construction process for the Longido District Learning Centre ("LDLC")! The team that has worked on this project includes local Tanzanian government officials, educators and other members of the Longido community, and members of our board from Canada.TEMBO's primary focus has been on the education of girls and empowerment of women. However, the children of Longido, especially the girls, must overcome many challenges if they are to be successful in school. We have been told by community members that informal education opportunities are very important. They want young children to find learning -- especially early exposure to books, educational games and English -- to be an enjoyable experience. They want older children to have the resources and a supportive environment in which to study. And they want the women of Longido to have opportunities for informal education which will help them and their families. To address these issues, we are developing the "Learning in Longido" program to provide some of these important facilities and programs. We are doing this in consultation with the community and with other interested NGOs._ed417b14-fece-11e5-812b-187a871228202016-04-09http://projectembo.org/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net