Team Tumaini,

More than ever before, I returned from last month’s trip to Tanzania filled with awe at our students, appreciation of the local community that partners with us, and deep gratitude and humility for what each of you has helped make possible. I am excited to share a few of the highlights of our visit:

We are currently supporting seventy students! These brilliant students range from Form One (the first year of secondary school) through Form Six, Teachers College, and Vocational School, and from age thirteen to age twenty-one. None of these students would be able to attend school without Tumaini’s support.
We spent most of the week visiting the homes of the 15 new students we added to our program. (One of our new students and her father are pictured above.) Many of these students walk several miles to reach school, traveling up to an hour and a half by foot in each direction every day. We met with every student's parent too. Every scholarship represents a partnership: each student’s family is investing as much as it is able, and the students are contributing to the program in several ways.
For the first time, Tumaini expanded to include a few students from Nkoanekoli, a neighboring village just at the base of beautiful Mt. Meru (pictured above). One of our most supportive Tanzanian partners, Amini Mbwambo, was recently promoted by the National Ministry of Education to be the headmaster at this new school, and it is our privilege to be able to help him build his first class of students. We are committed to the principle that Tumaini will only expand to the extent that its relationships allow and to the degree that the local community leads the effort. We are very proud of Mbwambo and are excited to join him in this opportunity to serve this community. We also had valuable meetings with local leaders, new teachers, and the Superintendent in the Ministry of Education, all of whom shared their deep appreciation for your support and are excited about this new partnership.
The students who just completed Form 6 continue to be our all-stars. I have known all of these guys since they were 13 or 14, and it has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life to grow with them over the last seven years. I realized during the trip that they are now the same age I was when I first arrived in the village – 21! It is exciting to see them affirmatively take greater ownership of Tumaini: they led the workshop, joined us on our home visits, provided translating for families, and are serving as important mentors for the younger students. They recently sat for the national exam and will receive their results in May, which will determine whether they can attend university or pursue a teaching degree to teach at the secondary school level. We were delighted to recognize them with formal certificates during this year's workshop.
We continue to be incredibly thankful for our (completely volunteer) leadership on the ground, including a growing team of local partners. This network provides a rich source of local knowledge, crucial hands-on logistical support, necessary accountability, and constant encouragement and guidance to our students. Mr. Msoffe, the headmaster of the Sakila Secondary School, provides constant wisdom, guidance, and humility; every year we increasingly recognize the great respect he has earned throughout the region and are impressed by his genuine care of our students. We are very excited that Mbwambo will be guiding a new school, Nkoanekoli Secondary School. It is a herculean task – building a school literally from the ground up – but we are confident in his abilities, and we are encouraged by the support he has from the local community (which will provide the primary funding and manpower for the school). We are thrilled to welcome a new local partner, Justine Mayo (pictured above), a dedicated teacher at the Sakila Secondary School. Mayo will be working alongside Mr. Msoffe to continue to meet with our students, provide updates on their progress, and encourage their achievement. We are thankful for the many teachers, both in Sakila and in Nkoanekoli, who are dedicated to our students.
We held a wonderful workshop on the last weekend of our visit. Led completely by our oldest students, the group held discussions, played games, delivered presentations, and enjoyed a great feast. We were blessed to have many visitors join us for the workshop. Sammy and Mary Mwaniki (Mary's pictured above) kindly traveled from Kenya to join us for a few days to provide valuable counsel to us and motivation to our students. The amazing husband-and-wife combo (he works in business and she is an accountant) bring a rich, experienced-based knowledge of East Africa, non-profit management, and youth work. Dr. Michael and Dr. Sitti, physicians at KCMC (one of the nation's most prestigious hospitals) were also generous to travel to Sakila from Moshi, a nearby city. They delivered speeches at our workshop, encouraging the students based on their faith and their own experiences. I was especially pleased that Mary and Sitti were able to speak – what terrific examples to our many female students. Ron Sahner and Brigid Casey, Duncan’s parents and dedicated Tumaini supports, also took time out of a safari to join us in Sakila to share with the students and teachers the wealth of gratitude and pride that our community of donors holds.
Big thanks to Board members Prentice and Duncan (pictured above in Nkoanekoli) for dedicating their time and money to come on this trip. As always, the Board of Tumaini fully funded this visit – you can be sure that 100% of your donations go directly to our students in Tanzania.
I am always moved by the beauty of Tanzania. But this year it was evident that a drought has hit the region hard. Costs have skyrocketed and many of our families have been crushed by poor harvests; we have increased our scholarship values accordingly. Thankfully, some rains came during our visit, but please pray for more. Many of these families are completely dependent on the land for their income.

We are in the middle of contracting with a web designer to update our website (www.tumainitanzania.org) so that it is more user-friendly and better able to convey, through pictures and videos, the transformation that you are helping make possible. In the meantime, as we upload our materials, I’ll periodically send videos, pictures, and stories that we gathered throughout this trip.

Thank you for your continued support of this community and this project. Having met with all our students, their families, and their teachers, I can report unequivocally that Tumaini Tanzania is making a positive and lasting impact. It is very exciting to be a part of this partnership – and a true honor to do so alongside you.

Mungu awabariki (God bless),

Lide