The Tanzania School Foundation: Ending Poverty with Education

Boston Tutoring Services is introducing a new series of blogposts about local nonprofit organizations. Our goals are to raise awareness about their work and to share how other people can get involved. If you or someone you know is part of, has worked with, or knows about a local nonprofit, please contact us and share your experiences. All submissions are welcome!

In the second part of our nonprofit series, Boston Tutoring Services interviews Christine Lott, Founder and Director of the Tanzania School Foundation. If you want to check out our last interview in the series, you can access it here.

Boston Tutoring Services: Tell me a little about your organization.
Christine Lott: We are a small nonprofit organization located in Stoughton, MA and Arusha, Tanzania. We founded the School of St. Nicholas, a school that provides a free quality education to children born into extreme poverty. It is our hopes that we will end the cycle of poverty in the years to come.

As of now we currently have one classroom and are working hard to raise funding to build additional classrooms and purchase an additional 2 acres of land. Our children must maintain a 75% average to meet the requirements of our advanced curriculum. Our organization began in 2008 after a promise was made. In 2011 we founded the School of St. Nicholas.

Why St. Nicholas? He was a very generous man who gave gifts to children; the best gift you can give a child in Tanzania is the gift of an education.

BTS: What are the organization’s biggest goals? What is its mission?
CL: Our goal is to have a full school in the next ten years. We start with one classroom for Kindergarten, immersing them in English, and build a new classroom every year to grow with our students.

BTS: What are some of the most difficult challenges and setbacks your organization has faced/continues to face?
CL: Our biggest challenge is raising the necessary funding to build and purchase more land and sustain our school at the same time. We have five staff, rent, electricity, food, books, medication, etc. to keep our school running. We build a little bit at a time with the extra funding we have.

Recently, the Tanzanian Educational Ministry advised us that a new law was adopted in 2011 that requires 3 acres of land to continue building and fully registering our school. As of now we own a 1.2 acre plot. We need to raise $60,000.00 to buy the additional land. Sometimes it seems impossible. I have faith and know it will come; it is just a matter of time.

BTS: What is the most gratifying aspect of your work?
CL: I absolutely love what I do. To have the ability to change lives and truly make a difference in the lives of our students and staff–all of whom I admire and respect–is heartwarming. Our students love coming to school every day. The smiles are endless all around. Our staff is honest and hardworking, and they keep everything going when I am not there. I am truly grateful to their dedication and support. All of our staff and students’ families have 100% faith in me. They believe in me even when I don’t believe I can do this all myself. They keep me going.

BTS: What is your favorite memory since working at the organization?
CL: Favorite memory…there are too many. Meeting people from all around the world, inviting them to our school to meet our students, hosting volunteers to see our work in action, interacting with the local folks on the ground in Tanzania and watching our students grow and speak English.

BTS: What are some of the organization’s greatest accomplishments?
CL: In 2011 we created the hand-painted in Tanzania Christmas Ornament to help us raise funding for our project. Two years later by Christmas 2013, there were 10,000 ornaments hanging on trees all around the world. We could not do what we do without those 10,000 people!

Our students are speaking English and can outperform a Government school grade 4 student in every subject.

BTS: How can other people get involved?
CL: We have dedicated volunteers who run food concessions at Gillette Stadium in an effort to raise funding. This year we have a new intern who is taking care of that aspect. We are always looking for volunteers in this capacity.

[People can] become a wholesale partner and sell our Christmas ornaments and other items that our families make, [or] host a fundraiser at a school, group or church. We need to build our Board with influential individuals who can help us grow.

Our staff and students in Tanzania love volunteers! Consider a trip to Tanzania, spend time with our students, work with the local fundi (contractors) building our campus and go on a short safari to Serengeti while you are there!

Get involved and learn more about the Tanzania School Foundation’s work at their official website.
Contact the Tanzania School Foundation at info@Tanzaniaschoolfoundation.org.