Brilliant, kind, and dedicated, Tariro’s program coordinator Tafadzwa Muzhandu (right, shown with student Tatenda C.) has been honored with two fellowships!

I’m writing to share some wonderful news from Tariro!  Our program director, Tafadzwa Muzhandu, has been selected to participate in the Community Solutions Program, administered by the United States Department of State.  This unique program offers participants the opportunity to complete a four-month fellowship in the United States, working with a non-profit or governmental organization.  By offering this type of professional development, the program intends to work toward positive change in areas such as women’s issues, conflict resolution, and accountability.

Worldwide, only 66 fellows are accepted into the Community Solutions Program each year.  By accepting Fadzie as a fellow, the US Department of State has made a strong statement that she is among “the best and brightest global community leaders!”  When I recently wrote to Fadzie to ask her what she was most excited about doing as a Community Solutions Program fellow, she replied:

The Community Solutions program is exciting because of the mentorship aspect. I think when you spend too much time in Zimbabwe, you get used to how difficult it to do anything and that sometimes limits your ability to think outside the box.  I know this program will give me a new perspective, and will be refreshing to do something different. I am looking forward to meeting practitioners from all over the world and learn new ways of thinking and running projects like Tariro.

Fadzie will arrive in the United States on July 30^th, and stay until December 7^th.  While she has not yet received the name of her hosting organization, I will post to the blog again as soon as we know where she will be.

In addition, Fadzie has received yet another invitation to visit the United States from Mount Holyoke College, which plans to bring her for a two-week residency organized by Professor Holly Hanson, with funding from the Mellon Foundation.  During her time at Mount Holyoke, she will speak to students about her work with Tariro, as well as exploring the possibility of hosting student internships and research on the ground in Zimbabwe.  She is currently working to schedule this visit in conjunction with her fellowship from the State Department.

Please help me in congratulating Fadzie on being awarded these two honors!  You can pass your greetings and congratulations on to her by posting a comment on this post, or by posting a note on Tariro’s Facebook page.

Brilliant, kind, and dedicated, Tariro's program coordinator Tafadzwa Muzhandu (right, shown with student Tatenda C.) has been honored with two fellowships!

I’m writing to share some wonderful news from Tariro!  Our program director, Tafadzwa Muzhandu, has been selected to participate in the Community Solutions Program, administered by the United States Department of State.  This unique program offers participants the opportunity to complete a four-month fellowship in the United States, working with a non-profit or governmental organization.  By offering this type of professional development, the program intends to work toward positive change in areas such as women’s issues, conflict resolution, and accountability.

Worldwide, only 66 fellows are accepted into the Community Solutions Program each year.  By accepting Fadzie as a fellow, the US Department of State has made a strong statement that she is among “the best and brightest global community leaders!”  When I recently wrote to Fadzie to ask her what she was most excited about doing as a Community Solutions Program fellow, she replied:

The Community Solutions program is exciting because of the mentorship aspect. I think when you spend too much time in Zimbabwe, you get used to how difficult it to do anything and that sometimes limits your ability to think outside the box.  I know this program will give me a new perspective, and will be refreshing to do something different. I am looking forward to meeting practitioners from all over the world and learn new ways of thinking and running projects like Tariro.

Fadzie will arrive in the United States on July 30^th, and stay until December 7^th.  While she has not yet received the name of her hosting organization, I will post to the blog again as soon as we know where she will be.

In addition, Fadzie has received yet another invitation to visit the United States from Mount Holyoke College, which plans to bring her for a two-week residency organized by Professor Holly Hanson, with funding from the Mellon Foundation.  During her time at Mount Holyoke, she will speak to students about her work with Tariro, as well as exploring the possibility of hosting student internships and research on the ground in Zimbabwe.  She is currently working to schedule this visit in conjunction with her fellowship from the State Department.

Please help me in congratulating Fadzie on being awarded these two honors!  You can pass your greetings and congratulations on to her by posting a comment on this post, or by posting a note on Tariro’s Facebook page.

Morline W.

In today’s post, I’m writing to share another student profile. Fourteen years old, Morline W. lives with her widowed mother in the township of Epworth.   Located on the outskirts of Harare, Epworth is one of the poorest communities in urban Zimbabwe.

Morline was enrolled in Tariro in mid-2011, after the headmaster at Domboramwari Secondary School introduced her to us.  Throughout primary school, Morline’s mother struggled to pay her school fees, and Morline spent a significant amount of time out of school.  Once she was enrolled at Domboramwari, Morline’s mother would plead with the headmaster at the beginning of each term to allow Morline to come to class, despite the fact that she could not afford to pay her fees.  Because Morline is one of the most academically talented students in her year, the headmaster allowed her to come to school, but continued to keep track of the amount of money Morline’s mother owed in fees.

When the headmaster approached Tariro to assist Morline, our program coordinator Tafadzwa asked what the school is doing to assist students like Morline.  In their conversation, the headmaster pointed out that more than 50% of his students are orphans and vulnerable children, and that the school requires the money generated by tuition revenues to pay for teacher salaries, upkeep of the grounds, and administration.  His options were thus limited to allowing parents and guardians to come up with payment plans.  Morline’s mother was one of the parents who was trying to cover the costs of tuition through incremental payments, but she struggled to pay even the small sum of $5 US per month.

Morline dreams of becoming a doctor when she finishes school, but as her mother struggled so hard to pay her fees, she did not have confidence that she would be able to complete the Ordinary and Advanced level studies necessary for enrollment in university.  Now that she receives sponsorship from Tariro, however, she has increasing confidence that her dreams may become reality!

As Morline’s mother has observed, Tariro’s educational sponsorships not only enable orphaned and vulnerable girls to work toward their futures, but also some level of normalcy in the present for young women who have gone through extremely difficult times.  Thank you for joining us in support of our mission to educate and empower orphaned and vulnerable girls like Morline!

Morlene W.

In today’s post, I’m writing to share another student profile. Fourteen years old, Morlene W. lives with her widowed mother in the township of Epworth.   Located on the outskirts of Harare, Epworth is one of the poorest communities in urban Zimbabwe.

Morlene was enrolled in Tariro in mid-2011, after the headmaster at Domboramwari Secondary School introduced her to us.  Throughout primary school, Morlene’s mother struggled to pay her school fees, and Morlene spent a significant amount of time out of school.  Once she was enrolled at Domboramwari, Morlene’s mother would plead with the headmaster at the beginning of each term to allow Morlene to come to class, despite the fact that she could not afford to pay her fees.  Because Morlene is one of the most academically talented students in her year, the headmaster allowed her to come to school, but continued to keep track of the amount of money Morlene’s mother owed in fees.

When the headmaster approached Tariro to assist Morlene, our program coordinator Tafadzwa asked what the school is doing to assist students like Morlene.  In their conversation, the headmaster pointed out that more than 50% of his students are orphans and vulnerable children, and that the school requires the money generated by tuition revenues to pay for teacher salaries, upkeep of the grounds, and administration.  His options were thus limited to allowing parents and guardians to come up with payment plans.  Morlene’s mother was one of the parents who was trying to cover the costs of tuition through incremental payments, but she struggled to pay even the small sum of $5 US per month.

Morlene dreams of becoming a doctor when she finishes school, but as her mother struggled so hard to pay her fees, she did not have confidence that she would be able to complete the Ordinary and Advanced level studies necessary for enrollment in university.  Now that she receives sponsorship from Tariro, however, she has increasing confidence that her dreams may become reality!

As Morlene’s mother has observed, Tariro’s educational sponsorships not only enable orphaned and vulnerable girls to work toward their futures, but also some level of normalcy in the present for young women who have gone through extremely difficult times.  Thank you for joining us in support of our mission to educate and empower orphaned and vulnerable girls like Morlene!

Yeukai K. is one of Tariro’s many students to pass her O level exams this year!

Exciting news about Tariro’s 2011 pass rates!

I’m writing today with exceptionally encouraging news from our program coordinator, Tafadzwa Muzhandu.  As some of you already know, students enrolled in secondary school in Zimbabwe write Ordinary, or “O” level exams after finishing Form 4.  Their results on these exams determine whether or not they are able to proceed to Advanced, or “A” level study.  In the past, Tariro’s pass rates have significantly beaten the national average.  In 2010, for example, roughly 30% of our students passed their O-level exams, compared with only 16.5% of students nationally.  However, we still haven’t been satisfied with a pass rate of 30%, and have sought to implement a number of strategies to raise our pass rate.  These strategies have included extra-curricular tutoring and academic guidance counseling, as well as revisiting the schools we sent out students to, in order to ensure they are receiving quality instruction.

This year, we’ve seen our efforts result in huge gains for our students!  In 2011, sixteen Tariro students wrote O-level exams, and ten of them passed, giving us a much higher, 62% pass rate!  This is well above Zimbabwe’s 2011 national average of 19.5%.

What does this mean for our students, and for Tariro?

As Tafadzwa reports, our exceptionally high pass rate in 2011 means that we have a record number of six students proceeding to A-level study.  This potentially means that in three or four years, we will have five or more students enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe.  We’re so pleased to see our efforts paying off, and bringing tangible, positive results for our students!

This development also means that we have some additional fundraising to do!  A-level study is considerably more expensive than O-level study, especially as Tariro must be able to cover the costs of taking A-level exams once students finish the two years of Advanced level courses.  In addition, most A-level students required new uniforms, and more expensive textbooks.  Finally, career guidance counseling efforts must be intensified for A-level students, in order to ensure that they make a successful transition into University study.

We are committed to taking our students as far as they can go in school, extending to the level of a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Zimbabwe.  But we can’t do it without your help!  Please consider making a donation to assist Tariro in covering the additional costs of sponsoring such a high number of A-level students in 2012.  If you’d like to contact us to discuss making a donation, or propose a fundraising event on our behalf in your community, we’d also love to hear from you!

Yeukai K. is one of Tariro's many students to pass her O level exams this year!

Exciting news about Tariro’s 2011 pass rates!

I’m writing today with exceptionally encouraging news from our program coordinator, Tafadzwa Muzhandu.  As some of you already know, students enrolled in secondary school in Zimbabwe write Ordinary, or “O” level exams after finishing Form 4.  Their results on these exams determine whether or not they are able to proceed to Advanced, or “A” level study.  In the past, Tariro’s pass rates have significantly beaten the national average.  In 2010, for example, roughly 30% of our students passed their O-level exams, compared with only 16.5% of students nationally.  However, we still haven’t been satisfied with a pass rate of 30%, and have sought to implement a number of strategies to raise our pass rate.  These strategies have included extra-curricular tutoring and academic guidance counseling, as well as revisiting the schools we sent out students to, in order to ensure they are receiving quality instruction.

This year, we’ve seen our efforts result in huge gains for our students!  In 2011, sixteen Tariro students wrote O-level exams, and ten of them passed, giving us a much higher, 62% pass rate!  This is well above Zimbabwe’s 2011 national average of 19.5%.

What does this mean for our students, and for Tariro?

As Tafadzwa reports, our exceptionally high pass rate in 2011 means that we have a record number of six students proceeding to A-level study.  This potentially means that in three or four years, we will have five or more students enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe.  We’re so pleased to see our efforts paying off, and bringing tangible, positive results for our students!

This development also means that we have some additional fundraising to do!  A-level study is considerably more expensive than O-level study, especially as Tariro must be able to cover the costs of taking A-level exams once students finish the two years of Advanced level courses.  In addition, most A-level students required new uniforms, and more expensive textbooks.  Finally, career guidance counseling efforts must be intensified for A-level students, in order to ensure that they make a successful transition into University study.

We are committed to taking our students as far as they can go in school, extending to the level of a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Zimbabwe.  But we can’t do it without your help!  Please consider making a donation to assist Tariro in covering the additional costs of sponsoring such a high number of A-level students in 2012.  If you’d like to contact us to discuss making a donation, or propose a fundraising event on our behalf in your community, we’d also love to hear from you!

Tariro student Tinotenda B

In my last post, I discussed Tariro’s strength in reintegrating students who have been out of school for extended periods due to the financial hardships facing their families, many of whom are caring for multiple orphans.  Today, I’d like to profile one student whose story illustrates the many challenges that face orphaned girls seeking to attend secondary school in Zimbabwe.

Tinotenda’s story

This student is Tinotenda B.,who had been forced to drop out of school almost two years ago, after losing her parents.  She currently lives with an uncle in Glen Norah, who is unemployed and unable to pay for her education.  Tinotenda had heard about Tariro from a friend, and she came to our offices to get more information, passionately exclaiming that school was the only important thing in her life.  Despite the fact that we were not in recruiting mode at the time, Tinotenda showed incredible determination and persistence, convincing our program coordinator Tafadzwa to enroll her in Tariro before our normal, end-of-year recruitment season.

Hope and determination

Every time Tinotenda appeared in our office, she wore the same dress, which she admitted was the only one she owned.  Upon conducting a home visit to assess her living situation, however, Tafadzwa discovered that despite owning only a single dress, Tinotenda had managed to amass a collection of old school uniforms from friends who attended different schools.  As she explained, she knew that once she found a sponsor, she would want to immediately begin attending school, without having to worry about buying uniforms.  As our program coordinator Tafadzwa relates, “I was surprised at her determination and hopefulness when she had been out of school for two years.”

Obstacles to enrollment and the need for advocacy

After accepting Tinotenda within Tariro’s educational sponsorship program, however, we had to conduct intensive community advocacy in order to find her a place in school.  Given the long period of time she had spent without attending school, she was unable to secure the transfer letter normally required for new enrollments at the government public schools in her neighborhood.  Our program coordinator visited several area schools, yet was unable to find one willing to give Tinotenda a place, because there was no evidence that she had ever attended school previously.

To overcome this obstacle to her enrollment, Tinotenda said she was willing to be placed in an entry level class, known as Form 1.  Finally, after several extended discussions with local headmasters, our program coordinator managed to convince the headmaster at Glen Norah High 1 to accept Tinotenda.  Because Glen Norah High 1 was the only school willing to accept Tinotenda, she must walk an hour to get to school everyday, yet she has not missed a day since she was admitted last term.  Tinotenda wore one of her borrowed uniforms for a term, until Tariro  purchased a new uniform for her to use.

A child is a cloth…

Tinotenda’s success in re-enrolling in secondary school after such a long absence was made possible through a combination of her own perseverance and dedication, as well as the intensive advocacy efforts exerted by our program coordinator, Tafadzwa.  In turn, Tariro’s ability to sustain this type of grassroots advocacy is made possible by all of the many donors who contribute to our programs, enabling us to pay school fees and related expenses for Tinotenda and almost 60 other girls.

As a Shona proverb says, “A child is a cloth, which is held by everyone.”  On behalf of Tinotenda and all of us at Tariro, thank you for being part of the community of support holding up our girls!

Tariro student Tinotenda B

In my last post, I discussed Tariro’s strength in reintegrating students who have been out of school for extended periods due to the financial hardships facing their families, many of whom are caring for multiple orphans.  Today, I’d like to profile one student whose story illustrates the many challenges that face orphaned girls seeking to attend secondary school in Zimbabwe.

Tinotenda’s story

This student is Tinotenda B.,who had been forced to drop out of school almost two years ago, after losing her parents.  She currently lives with an uncle in Glen Norah, who is unemployed and unable to pay for her education.  Tinotenda had heard about Tariro from a friend, and she came to our offices to get more information, passionately exclaiming that school was the only important thing in her life.  Despite the fact that we were not in recruiting mode at the time, Tinotenda showed incredible determination and persistence, convincing our program coordinator Tafadzwa to enroll her in Tariro before our normal, end-of-year recruitment season.

Hope and determination

Every time Tinotenda appeared in our office, she wore the same dress, which she admitted was the only one she owned.  Upon conducting a home visit to assess her living situation, however, Tafadzwa discovered that despite owning only a single dress, Tinotenda had managed to amass a collection of old school uniforms from friends who attended different schools.  As she explained, she knew that once she found a sponsor, she would want to immediately begin attending school, without having to worry about buying uniforms.  As our program coordinator Tafadzwa relates, “I was surprised at her determination and hopefulness when she had been out of school for two years.”

Obstacles to enrollment and the need for advocacy

After accepting Tinotenda within Tariro’s educational sponsorship program, however, we had to conduct intensive community advocacy in order to find her a place in school.  Given the long period of time she had spent without attending school, she was unable to secure the transfer letter normally required for new enrollments at the government public schools in her neighborhood.  Our program coordinator visited several area schools, yet was unable to find one willing to give Tinotenda a place, because there was no evidence that she had ever attended school previously.

To overcome this obstacle to her enrollment, Tinotenda said she was willing to be placed in an entry level class, known as Form 1.  Finally, after several extended discussions with local headmasters, our program coordinator managed to convince the headmaster at Glen Norah High 1 to accept Tinotenda.  Because Glen Norah High 1 was the only school willing to accept Tinotenda, she must walk an hour to get to school everyday, yet she has not missed a day since she was admitted last term.  Tinotenda wore one of her borrowed uniforms for a term, until Tariro  purchased a new uniform for her to use.

A child is a cloth…

Tinotenda’s success in re-enrolling in secondary school after such a long absence was made possible through a combination of her own perseverance and dedication, as well as the intensive advocacy efforts exerted by our program coordinator, Tafadzwa.  In turn, Tariro’s ability to sustain this type of grassroots advocacy is made possible by all of the many donors who contribute to our programs, enabling us to pay school fees and related expenses for Tinotenda and almost 60 other girls.

As a Shona proverb says, “A child is a cloth, which is held by everyone.”  On behalf of Tinotenda and all of us at Tariro, thank you for being part of the community of support holding up our girls!