Hope for Tanzania

Trustees Annual Report 2010

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Governing Document

Hope for Tanzania is governed by its Trust Deed dated 3 March 2008. It is registered with the Charity Commission, registration number 1124470.

Objects

The objects of Hope for Tanzania, as set out in the Trust Deed, are to advance education in accordance with Christian principles and to relieve poverty in particular but not exclusively by improving employment prospects of individuals and communities by such means as the trustees may consider appropriate including by means of establishing and operating any educational or training establishment or establishments and by the provision of funds, goods or services of any kind including support for small businesses in such parts of Tanzania.

Hope for Tanzania works in the following areas:

How we work

We work with trustworthy individuals in Tanzania to ensure that funds are spent on designated projects and no issues arise around corrupt practices. At present we have only worked with the institutions of Tuishime School and Arusha Clinic and then only through individuals that we have confidence in.

The projects that have been supported in 2010 were solely for the benefit of people living in Tanzania - students, children, families, patients. We have many stories about how the support we have given has improved people's lives, whether through giving them hope, taking them out of poverty or improving their future. Our programmes are given for the benefit of people irrespective of their religion, gender or age.

The support we give is of limited duration and we take great care that people do not develop a long term dependency on aid. The child sponsorship scheme, in particular, means that families have the opportunity to send their children to primary school although we cannot provide further support for the majority of children once they start at secondary school. Hope for Tanzania funding levels are rather modest, so they will have no effect in distorting the local economy, although we believe that directly and indirectly we significantly affect the lives of about 1000 people.

What we did - Activities, Achievements

In setting its objectives for the year and allocating funds to projects, the trustees have complied with their duty of care in regard to the public benefit guidance as published in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 by the Commission. The trustees always ensure that its programmes are in line with the charitable aims and objectives of Hope for Tanzania.

During 2010, Hope for Tanzania has carried out its activities in Tanzania for the public benefit as follows:

The year between visits to Tanzania is always the most difficult one in keeping enthusiasm levels high and maintaining communication. However, the situation this year was made easier by the decision of Peter and Rosalind Harris to visit Arusha in October. Although the prime reason for their visit was in connection with the Faraja Clinic, it was a real encouragement to the Masenge family by reminding them that they remain very much in our thoughts and prayers. Support to a wide range of Tanzanians has included letters, phone calls and text messages playing an important part in encouraging many people in Tanzania with whom we have contact.

Education at Tuishime School

The main project that has been supported has been the Tuishime Nursery & Primary School. This year we were able to fund the construction of two classrooms, which was earlier than we anticipated, since only one classroom was due to be built in 2010. The new classrooms will allow the baby and nursery classes to move from their current location, which will both free up space within the bungalow and provide more space for the ever expanding baby class. The School produced the first edition of "The Mirror", their magazine for pupils and parents, and Hope for Tanzania was able to help with its publishing and printing. We were able to fund a photocopier and printer thanks to a generous donation and this will make life much easier for staff. We also bought a significant number of textbooks for pupils which will reduce the need for teachers to write information on blackboards and so help to improve educational standards.

The exam results of class VII, the first to gradate from the School, were impressive with all 14 pupils passing in all 5 subjects. The School achieved position number 14 out of 71 schools in the District, position number 42 out of 512 schools in the Region and position number 207 out of 14,759 schools in the whole of Tanzania. We salute their achievement. School graduation day was held in September which was a joyful day with many visitors, a guest of honour (the District Education Officer), demonstrations and drama.

This has been edited by Roger Lennard to produce a four-minute videoclip which can be used for publicity and promotion.

A continuing problem, mentioned in last year's report, is delayed or non- payment of school fees by parents. This has had a significant negative effect on cash flow and has led to difficulties in paying teachers' salaries. The Director and Headteacher took a tough stance on this matter at the start of the year which resulted in a significant reduction of pupils whose parents were not able to pay although numbers gradually increased during 2010. The roll now stands at 216, a substantial increase from the low point of 170. This will provide more income to the School and allow teachers to be paid a salary closer to that recommended by the Government. French and computing have been added as curriculum subjects for 2011.

Education of Individuals

A number of students were supported in their education: Maria Masenge completed her Diploma in Business Administration, Felicia Festo continued into the second year of her B.Ed degree whilst Shamsa, Ibrahim and Joshua continued at School.

The child sponsorship scheme has remained at the same number of supporters as last year (21) despite offering lower levels of sponsorship. Letters were sent to sponsors during the year including, at Christmas, a personalised calendar with a photograph of their child on it.

Relief of Poverty

Thanks to a generous donation from one of our supporters we were able to purchase anaesthetic equipment for the Faraja Clinic to allow it carry out minor operations. The clinic was set up by Tanzanians three years ago to provide medical treatment for poor people and is seeing a steady increase in patient numbers. The operating theatre will extend services and, by charging full fees for patients who can afford them, will allow poorer patients to be treated through subsidies. The anaesthetic equipment was purchased through a loan to the clinic that will be repaid to Hope for Tanzania over a number of years and used to kick-start a fund for the microloan scheme which is being set up. Peter and Rosalind Harris visited Arusha and trained up clinic staff in use of the equipment in preparation for the start of operations.

Donations were also made to support the work of evangelist Grace Mbise and the Daraja Mbili orphanage which provides critical help to children who live in the poorest area of Arusha.

Fundraising

Trustees held a stall at Duffield Carnival where they advertised the work of Hope for Tanzania and raised funds. Various supporters engaged in sponsored events such as walks and bike rides through which a substantial amount of money was raised. The website was finally commissioned and has gone live. A newsletter was sent to general supporters at Christmas summarising the year's activities.

Developments Planned for 2011

Visit 2011 will be made to Arusha, Tanzania in October/November to assist in a number of projects, make new contacts and build relationships. We see this visit as a key way to increase the number of supporters and to help the many children and adults that we will meet whilst we are in Tanzania. We will also take reading and reference books to further improve the School library.

Major fundraising will be started to send a reconditioned computers to Arusha for use in two schools. These will be used to start computer training of teachers and pupils as currently schools have very limited access to computers.

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