Invest in a girl, invest in the future: Tariro’s annual donation drive

Tariro student Ashley M

In this post, I’m pleased to launch Tariro’s 2010 annual fundraising campaign.  To begin the campaign, I want to share the story of Tariro student Ashley M.  As Ashley describes, the opportunity to participate in Tariro is a life-altering experience for our students, many of whom have struggled with the grief of losing their parents:

Trouble started when my father got ill.… his health deteriorated and at last we lost him on the 5^th of December 2007.  After his burial I went and lived with my aunt in Ruwa.  She had promised me to pay my fees but she later on changed her mind.  I moved back to my father’s house from Ruwa and my step-mom told me she couldn’t afford to send me to school and urged me to go to my granny’s house… For many days I lived in grief.  Sometimes I would stare at the entrance gate thinking that my father would come back from work but I saw no one.  These were some of my hard, sad moments.

I moved to my grandparents’ place and lived there.  I didn’t know that God was the one who planned my life until Tariro started to pay for my school fees…  This changed my life because I now knew I could live a normal life even if my parents were dead.  It gave me power over my academic results… I performed quite better in terms of school work and exams.  I am in Form 3 now at Herental College.

Today, I am asking you to consider making a donation in support of Tariro’s work with Ashley, in addition to the more than 50 orphaned girls we currently sponsor.  Your donations are critical to enabling us to carry out our mission of educating and empowerment girls in Zimbabwean communities affected by HIV/AIDS.  Please read on to learn how to support our work.

100 “Friends of Tariro”

This year, Tariro’s goal is to sign up 100 “Friends of Tariro,” who will support our work by making automated monthly donations.  As a small organization, recurring donors are especially important to us, enabling us to have a stable and predictable donor base.  We would love for Friends of Tariro to consider making a monthly donation of $30; however, no amount is too large or small!

It’s easy to sign up to make automated monthly donations through our online donation service, JustGive.  Simply visit Tariro’s page with JustGive. Then check the box, “Make this a monthly recurring donation” as you fill out your details.

Becoming a Friend of Tariro is a wonderful way to help ensure the sustainability and progress of our small but growing organization.  We thank you for your support!

Make a one-time donation

You can also make a one-time donation to Tariro through JustGive, or by sending us a check at:

Tariro: Hope and Health for Zimbabwe’s Orphans
PO Box 50273
Eugene, OR, 97405
USA

Track our progress online

Our fundraising goal is to raise $40,000 by the end of 2010.  You can track our progress on the thermometer installed on our website, which will be updated weekly as funds come in.  For each monthly donor who signs up as a “Friend of Tariro,” we will calculate the total yearly amount of your donation when updating the thermometer.

Why donate to Tariro?

Tariro’s investment in women’s education is an investment in building a future free from HIV/AIDS.  By working with individual students and their families, Tariro is able to radically transform the outcomes for orphaned girls, enabling them to finish secondary school, and even proceed to university level studies.

As a grassroots organization working closely with individual students and their families, Tariro’s investment in educating and empowering women has started to pay off.  Some of the tangible indicators of progress we’d like to share with you from this year alone include:

Tariro’s first university student celebrated her graduation from the University of Zimbabwe this year.  She is now a small business owner, employing women in her own community.  In addition, two more students have now begun attending university this year with Tariro’s assistance.

Tariro works closely to provide emergency services to students with special needs.  This year, Tariro raised over $1,000 to provide emergency medical care for student Noleen C., who suffers from spina bifida and attends a special school for the disabled.

Camps Unlimited, the agency which organizes our annual empowerment camp, has been so impressed with Tariro’s students that they gave one of our recent graduates a job as an on-going camp facilitator.

Thank you!

Whether you choose to make a one-time donation or become a Friend of Tariro, we appreciate your support, which is critical to Tariro’s ability to continue our work educating and empowering Zimbabwean girls.