Rudisha Foundation - Schooling children in Tanzania

By Sharon Weatherall

My good friend Martha Msuya spends half her year in an woodsy trailer camp near Durham and the other half in Moshi, Tanzania – a third world country where she is witness to great poverty among the local people of her area.

One day while her enjoying a visit from her son Moses Msuya, and his girlfriend Amanda Strowbridge, they noticed a young girl walking by in the middle of the day and wondered why she was not at school? Her name was Eliza and she was following her mother with a basket of dirty clothes.

"Her mom washes dirty clothes for people and gives them back the next day clean and ironed using a charcoal iron to get the wrinkles out - she charges per clothing item and makes 3,000 Tanzanian (TZ) shillings for each basket which is equal to $1.50 in Canadian money. She also cleans bar room toilets for 3,000 TZ shillings per week, “said Martha, who had often noticed the girl trailing along behind her mother.

Eliza who could not afford to go to school, became the first child sponsored by the Rudisha Foundation. Rudisha means to 'return' or 'give back' and that is exactly what the trio are doing. Founded in 2012 by Moses and Amanda the foundation was created to provide a life changing experience for children living in Moshi, Tanzania. Moshi is 300 miles inland Tanzania and the people there speak Swahili. To date there are nine sponsored children attending school that otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn reading and writing.

During her winters in Tanzania, Martha helps Amanda by visiting schools the sponsored children attend, to collect reports and ensure they doing well in school, attending classes and thriving.

"Tanzania being a third world country is very poor. You can rent a room for 20,000 TZ for a month and for 1,000 TZ  - equal to seventy five cents, you could buy a beer or pack of smokes," explained Martha.

"School fees are different at each school and we are only sponsoring public school ages - not high school kids. The most expensive fee we are paying now is $199 per year and that is only the school fees not including the uniforms and shoes which must be provided by the parents."

 Elizabeth John Mamuya whose mother Catherine washes clothes, was born in November 2007. The six year old must ride a bus to kindergarten which costs 15,000 TZ or about $10 per month extra. She attends a Catholic Day Care Centre at a cost of 300,000 TZ and is so happy to be attending school and learning. Because she is a sponsored child, the Rudisha Foundation will continue to see her right through public school.

Another lucky family of boys from the community has been sponsored and are all attending different schools thanks to the Rudisha Foundation. Ally Ramathani Rashidi born April, 2007 is the youngest child sponsored, along with his older siblings, Hassani Ramadhani Rashidi born in October, 2003 and Rashidi Ramadhani Rashidi born January, 1998. The school fees for Ally who wants to be an airplane pilot when he grows up, are 25,000 TZ per year.  For Hassani who wants to be a teacher someday, it costs 25,000 TZ to attend school. The cost is 185,000 TZ per year (including full uniform) to educate the oldest brother - Rashidi, who enjoys geography, math and wants to become a soldier.

Mother of the boys Wahida Ramadhani and their father Ramadhani, both work very hard to earn a living and support their children but it is not enough to send them to school without help from the Rudisha Foundation.

"Their father is a sewer on the street with a sewing machine. He sews dresses, shirts and pants, etc. He takes the measurements of a customer one day and has the order done for pick-up the next. He might charge 1,000 TZ shillings for one dress. People in Tanzania love to dress up in brilliant colours and Ramadhani does quality work. His clothing looks like it has been tailored," said Martha.               

Lucas Gift Costatin born February, 2007 lives with his guardian Stephanie Denis Ritte and attends school with fees totalling 77,000 TZ which are covered by the Rudisha Foundation.

Lucas' sister Julieth Costatin born October 2002 is being educated at a cost of 101,000 TZ per year and 47,800 TZ for uniform, books etc. She is cared for by two guardians - her aunt Deograsia Denice Ritte and a retired school teacher named Christina B. Ritte. Julieth who had never attended school before, spent her time babysitting and helping her aunt.
"Both of their parents died from AIDS and that is why they now live with guardians. Lucas loves to come and show me his work. It is so impressive to see when he would not otherwise have had a chance to learn. I take him out for a Coca-Cola for a treat," said Martha.

Siblings Joel Elisante Mmari born July, 2000 and his sister Nancy Elisante Mmari born March,1999 are both sponsored by the Rudisha Foundation to attend school at a cost of 42,000 TZ per year and 115,000 TZ per year, respectively. Before school they were selling mangoes and whatever fruit is in season.

 "Whatever is ripe they go out with a bucket on their heads selling at the market. This past Christmas the two of them came to my house and helped me to decorate my tree - they were so amazed at the tinsel. I shut the lights out to show them how it sparkles. They had never seen such a thing before," said Martha.

Little Noel Albert Leonard Lema born May, 2008 is now attending school in Moshi with fees of 300,000 TZ per year covered by the Rudisha Foundation. He is the middle boy from the family of  a woman who does house cleaning for Martha.
It is important to Martha, Moses and Amanda that the sponsorship commitment of children is long term so they can complete public school able to read and write.

"Amanda and Moses first got the idea when they saw little Eliza following her mother with a big plastic basin of clothes and wanted to give her a chance. They left me with the work to find an English speaking school and what it would cost before carrying through with the sponsorship and since then that one sponsorship has grown to nine," said Martha who is called 'bee-bee' meaning grandmother by many children.

"We are looking for help with sponsorships and donations. People can commit to any amount - even $20 a year would help to send a child to school. There are two kinds of schools including government schools which are not as upper class but English schools are more expensive. They go from $20 - $200 to pay for a child for a year."

Martha Msuya who is of Mennonite background, has lived in Tanzania as a winter resident since 2004 and come to love the country that her husband El Msuya (now deceased) came from. Each year when she goes home to Africa she takes clothing, notebooks, school supplies, jigsaw puzzles and other items to give for the people, seeking sponsors here at home to help cover the cost of extra luggage.

Amanda Strowbridge, originally from Nova Scotia lives with Moses Msuya, in Tanzania where Moses flies hot air balloons. The couple is very passionate about the country and its people. Living in a third world country with its dirt roads and lack of infrastructure, is a big change from Canada. Most people have to walk five miles for water and carry it back home in a pail on their head. The Rudisha Foundation believes education is an asset that will help Tanzanian children move ahead in life. It is a good start.

Please visit the www.tembotours.com  sponsorship page to learn more about each child and how you can help. You will see photos of the children and the schools they attend and read stories of Martha's and Amanda's visits from March 2013.
 
Visit www.sea2travel.blogspot.com  to read more details or email:astrowbridge@tpi.ca or martha_msuya@yahoo.com  to make inquiries.         

Molly Doodle joins the Villagers

By Sharon Weatherall

‘Molly Doodle’ - a lovable golden-doodle with a series of popular children’s books will be sharing her fame with 'We are the Villagers' – a children’s charity based from Midland.

Molly’s talented mom is artist darci-que - an illustrator and author of many children’s books, with the ‘The Adventures of Molly Doodle' being her most popular. Each exciting lesson based story has won the heart of the kids and adults alike. There are currently eight Molly Doodle adventures with books available through Chapters.

 Last week darci-que and Villagers co-founder Julianna Matyas, met in Midland to discuss an potential partnership involving a series of children's books for We are the Villagers which will not only help promote the non-profit kid’s charity but could also be sold as a fundraiser for the cause.

 “I am hoping the initial book will show what we do as Villagers and what the Villagers can do for children. It will highlight activities the kids are in and also be sold at our events to raise money that will help us become more self-supportive,” said Matyas.

“Then we will follow through with other books about the success stories of our kids. It fits in perfect with The Villager concept - it takes a whole village to raise a child.”

 Matyas says she has been looking for just the right person to work on this project and enhance her dream to develop a program to assist families and their children participate in extracurricular activities of interest to them. Whether it be sports, music, art or other interests The Villagers sponsor children in need so they can take part in these activities without being restricted by registration and equipment costs.  In just one year of operation The Villagers has already raised $72,000. and there are 47 children who will be continued to be supported in various programs.

darci-que – who has worked closely with children of all ages for the past 20 years, was thrilled to learn about a charity that helps all children participate regardless of cost. At home in Creemore she has operated a kids summer art camp for over a decade, done clowning at community events for many years along with her daughter Emily Fischl, hosted children’s parties and published not only children's books but award winning greeting cards and wrapping paper. darci-que has several other books on the market aside from the popular Molly Doodle series, including the Bumble Bee with too many Bathing Suits, and several commissioned works for other fundraising groups and organizations. Visit: www.theadventuresofmolliedoodle.com

 “I am excited about working together with the Villagers to come up with a book that will promote the group and create awareness for the good work it does,” said darci-que.

 “I think it is wonderful that Molly will be part of this and recognized as a character in The Villagers books. I believe it is the job of parents to help their child realize their dreams and that is what The Villagers are trying to help parents achieve."

During the recent meeting both women realized they beleive the same concept of the teaching and training kids in a community. The whole idea of The Villagers is to motivate kids to try something new. If the kids really like something and want to do it great, and if it doesn't work then they should try something else.

"I see this as mentoring kids to get a path and getting kids to the right path is what we want to do," said Matyas.
"If a parent doesn’t train a child to do what they want to do, how does that child know what direction to take?”

Matyas co-founded The Villagers one year ago along with Geoff Crompton from The Library Restaurant in Midland. Both parties have worked extremely hard to make The Villagers what it is today – a movement that's already growing past its North Simcoe boundaries into neighbouring communities. Matyas and Crompton hope to the see major expansion as the program becomes better known.

Matyas says the new children's books featuring lovable Molly Doodle will help to immortalize The Villagers in print and become part of children's lives as they are growing up.

As mentioned above, the first book will be about The Villagers in general while others will depict characterized stories about Villager children who have achieved self-confidence and success through participation in the program. Of course, with Molly Doodle as part of the books, she will be viewed as a role model for life lessons such as sharing and caring, stopping bullying, learning that everyone can’t be a winner all the time, and so much more.

"My idea is to have the books focus on not only success stories of the kids, but also the trial and tribulations of single parents and grandparents who are raising little ones – all of the things about life in general," said Matyas.

"As we move forward with this project I believe that all the right people will fall into place for the right reasons. I can see it happening already. We have had so much support already it is amazing.”

We are the Villagers operates through dedicated volunteers with all monies raised going back into sponsoring children's programs.  Visit: www.wearethevillagers.com to find out more about how you can become involved as a volunteer or get your child sponsored.