Thank you! I know time is precious.
Today, instead of writing a newsletter I put it in a video for you.
Please watch the video below - and feel free to share it with your friends.
Thank you so much watching - your support means the world to us!
What Can You Get For 3 Cents?
Not much, you’d probably say.
But what if I told you that is all it takes to change a life?
It costs just $0.03 per person per day to deliver healthcare and poverty reducing activities to the 35,000 people living in the Nyamatongo Ward.
By donating as little as $10 you are helping more than 300 people! That is unbelievable, isn't it?
If you donate $50 you are helping 16,667 in one day. If you choose to make that donation monthly you have supported more than 200,000 people in one year. Incredible!
Your donation changes lives every day.
You can read all about our projects on our website: https://www.australiaforcedartanzania.org/
5 reasons NOT to support a charity in Africa
We often hear arguments as to why people feel they shouldn't support us. Here are the 5 most common ones - and what we think.
Please tell us if you agree.
#1
“Charity begins at home”
We have problems in our own country and we should resolve those first. Only then, when all our problems are solved, should we start worrying about others.
To that, we believe we all have a “Global Responsibility”. One doesn’t negate the other. In fact, we strongly believe in doing both. Looking after people and causes in our own country never finishes and should continue. But that doesn’t mean we cannot also care about other people and other causes.
#2
“Aid doesn’t work anyway”
We keep giving money to people in Africa and we can’t see any changes or any improvements. It doesn’t make any difference.
To some extend we agree. Handing out money is not sustainable and doesn’t foster change. We believe in evidence-based solutions proven to improve living standards for generations to come. The old saying ‘Give a man a fish and you help him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you help him for a lifetime’ is very relevant here.
#3
“Corruption”
We don’t know where the money goes anyway. Only a fraction of donations are going to help the people in need.
We have seen our fair share of corruption and therefore we know the pitfalls. By having an office in both Australia and Tanzania - which also means we are registered in both countries - means we are very transparent with our spending and costs. Look for organisations that have minimal layers and are hands-on.
#4
“Aid creates dependency”
If we keep supporting people they will never learn to be independent. We will end up having to support them financially forever.
We believe in empowerment. Showing and teaching people they are able to learn a skill, set up a business, or improve their academic capabilities - no matter their situation. We believe in community-led solutions and working together as a team finding ways people can lift themselves out of poverty - with a little nudge.
#5
“Donor Fatigue”
We can’t bear to hear another word about how miserable other people are. We already give left, right and center.
Choose your causes and stick with them. Change doesn’t happen over night. Being able to have empathy with people across the globe can open your eyes to new experiences. And sometimes, sharing a post with 5 friends is just as valuable as a donation. Anyone can afford that, right?
Are you going to share this post?
Thank you,
Nina
Why should we care about poverty in Africa?
Africa, and Tanzania specifically, is so far away. That can’t possible affect me, nor be my responsibility, right?
I agree, Tanzania is far away - more than 8,000km if you could fly directly - but poverty in Africa DOES affect you on daily basis, and it IS everyones responsibility. I’ll tell you why:
First of all, there are the humanitarian reasons.
Poverty is a human rights issue, and everyone deserves to have access to basic needs such as food, water, healthcare, and education. Poverty in Africa can lead to widespread suffering, and it is our moral obligation as global citizens to help those in need. Don’t you think?
Secondly, there are economic reasons.
Poverty in Africa has negative economic impacts not just for the continent but also for the global economy. Poverty leads to decreased productivity, increased healthcare costs, and decreased economic growth, which has a ripple effect throughout the world. We are seeing it now with inflation and recessions, and increased costs of living.
Poverty also affects political stability.
Poverty is a major contributor to political instability and conflict, which has serious consequences for both the continent and the world. By addressing poverty in Africa, we can help promote political stability and reduce the likelihood of conflict and instability.
Conflict and instability often leads to an increase in migration and in refugees.
Global health is another reason to want to minimise poverty in Africa.
Poverty can contribute to the spread of diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, and recently we have all experienced how COVID affected us all.
Addressing poverty in Africa can help to improve public health outcomes both within Africa and globally.
Finally, climate change is connected to poverty alleviation.
Poverty also contributes to climate change and environmental degradation, which has serious consequences for the world. By addressing poverty in Africa and promoting sustainable development, we can help to mitigate the effects of climate change and promote a more sustainable future.
This is truly in everyone’s interests, right?
We can help you!
We give you a tangible and impactful way to make a positive and sustainable change for people living in severe poverty.
We offer you a pathway to create this change with minimal administrative layers between donation to beneficiary.
Thank YOU
Nina
Take a sip of your water...
Climate change is causing havoc across the world. Devasting floods in some parts - and severe drought others. Tanzania is suffering from the lack of rains along with the rest of Horn of Africa.
Major cities such as Dar es Salaam and Dodoma – home to 6.5M people – are currently rationing water. Water is only available every second day. No running water. No drinking water. No cooking water. No flushing toilets. No showers. No washing clothes or cleaning. No water.
In rural areas everything is just dry. Rivers and water holes are drying up. Only few crops can withstand the drought. Livestock is suffering. Livestock and farming is crucial to the survival of the 61M people living in Tanzania.
This video shows how dire the situation is starting to get for people living in rural areas:
https://www.dw.com/en/tanzanias-drastic-drought/video-62986414
Is there any hope for Irene's children?
It is 12 noon, and the sun has reached its highest point, beating down on my head as I walk towards a few neighbourhood houses scattered in a remote village.
A delicious smell of cooking is reaching me from some of the homes. However, when I reach Irene’s house, the smell is different; a stale and empty smell come from the little mud house in which she lives.
Irene* is sitting on the ground under a tree outside her one-room mud house. She is not alone; with her is her youngest daughter aged 3. After spending hours looking for water, this is the only time she gets to rest before she starts to prepare the evening meal for her family. “I am so tired; I have been up since 4am to fetch water from a seasonal waterhole. It has taken me almost six hours to fill all my buckets. Because the waterholes are dry most of the year, once there is water, you spend a long time waiting in line,” she explains.
The 38-year-old mother of five is currently raising her children alone after her second husband left her two years ago. Coming from a poor family, she never had an opportunity to go to school because her parents couldn’t afford to pay for her school expenses.
Even though tuition is free in Tanzania her family could not afford the costs for a school uniform, pencil, paper, and books.
She admits poverty is taking its toll on her children, especially her eldest son. Irene says her son has become a village boy with no future after completing form four (Grade 10 equivalent). There are no jobs and they do not have the money for school fees for him to go to college.
Irene earns about $2 a day selling tomatoes on the side of the street. Most days she can afford to cook two meals a day for her little family but some days, when business is slow, she can only afford to offer her children one meal a day.
Irene sees little hope for her children. She wishes her children will get to finish their education, get a job, and break the poverty cycle in her family. “It’s hard to predict the future. Unless my children finish their education and get good jobs, they will end up like me. No parents wish to see their children live in poverty. Reality is, things are hard, and they keep getting tougher each day,” the struggling mother says.
Last Monday we marked the International Day for Eradicating Poverty. Irene and her children are just one family among thousands of families living in poverty throughout the Nyamatongo Ward, and Tanzania.
If you would like to help us eradicate poverty, you can make your difference here:
Thank you.
* Irene is not her real name.
Mushrooms are the answer to…. EVERYTHING!
Poverty alleviation, better nutrition, job creation, equality, health, climate change, sustainability, and long-term funding of al our projects!
It can’t get much better than that, can it?
Please listen to Tzippora explain here:
How does it work?
We are currently teaching the skills of mushroom farming in the rural communities in which we work. Collecting 2 tonnes of harvest waste from the surrounding fields that would otherwise have been burnt. This creates the basis of our substrate in which the mushrooms will grow.
Our mushrooms grows in buckets in which we have drilled holes in sides. We are using a couple of rooms in our newly refurbished community centre to house the mushroom farm.
Once the mushroom are ready, our participants will learn the right technique to harvest the mushrooms.
Fresh mushrooms have a relatively short shelf life and needs to be sold quickly. To help with this potential issue, we are adding a drying process at the end. Custom built driers not using electricity but only the heat from the sun has been developed and will enable us to make a product ready for local distribution and export.
How can mushrooms help fund other projects?
Once we start selling our crop the income will be used to sustain the mushroom farm and any surplus will support any of our other projects like Kamanga Health Centre and our Outreach Team.
How does the participants benefit?
Each participant learns a skill. Mushroom farming is very new in Tanzania and as such we are pioneers in this area.
The participants can use this skill to set up a small scale farm at home for own consumption, or they can set up a collaborative farm producing mushrooms in larger scale.
Any surplus of produce can be sold to us where we dry the mushrooms and package them to international standards and export the end product.
How can YOU help?
Even though we have provided the training for our participants free of charge, and we will provide continuous support to those who chose to continue to grow mushrooms, there is a small initial cost for the participant to get things needed to starting growing.
You can help by sponsoring one of our conveniently packaged bundles that will enable our participants to start growing mushrooms right away.
“Home Growing Kit” consists of everything needed for a participant to take home to start growing for own use, or maybe sell any little extra at the local market. A kit costs AUD $15 (USD $10).
“Farm Bundle” consist of everything needed for a 30 bucket farm. This is a small scale collaborative farm that can produce for own consumption, the local market or for drying and export. A farm bundle has the value of AUD $110 (USD $77).
Why should you care?
Why should you care about people in Africa? We have our own problems we need to care about. Isn’t that more important?
What if I tell you caring about people in Africa is caring for your own?
What if I tell you helping people living in developing countries out of poverty is having a direct influence on your life?
How is that so?
You see, especially in these COVID times, it becomes crystal clear that we do not live in bubbles. That we are all connected.
The surfacing of the new Omicron variant is putting a hold on travel plans again. Some countries are re-instating masks and people are getting sick even though they are double-vaccinated. Just as it seemed like we could see light at the end of the tunnel it has been taken away from us again.
Most of the sub-Saharan Africa has very low vaccination rates. South Africa is leading the board with 24% of the population being fully vaccinated. In comparison, only 1.4% of Tanzania’s population has received a double dose.
Now, how does that affect you?
Back to the Omicron variation we are seeing now. Virus mutations happens when it replicates inside an unvaccinated host. When a person is vaccinated the virus doesn’t get a chance to replicate as much and therefore less mutations can happen. Most of these mutations means nothing but now and again it hits jackpot and becomes better at something. Whether it is better at transmitting, more deadly, or becomes or immune to current vaccines is a bit of a lucky dip.
With the extremely low vaccination rates in sub-Saharan Africa the virus has so much more opportunity to mutate, and chances are we are going to see many more variants that will spread and affect us all.
Just send some more vaccines?
If only this was the only hurdle we’d see.
Just like we see people being hesitant to get vaccinated in the rest of the world we are seeing that in Tanzania too. In fact, we have vaccines available at Kamanga Health Centre for anyone who would like to get a shot.
Hesitancy doesn’t only stem from people being COVID-deniers or believing in conspiracy theories.
It comes from lack of education. Not knowing how diseases spread. Not knowing how vaccines can protect you.
It comes from living in severe poverty. Not having money for transport to a hospital. Not being able to afford spending the day walking to a clinic and back. Not having capacity to think any further than how you are going to feed your children and yourself today.
So, what can YOU do?
Support organisations working with healthcare projects poverty alleviation in developing countries just like Australia for Cedar Tanzania.
Enable people living in severe poverty to earn a living. This will allow their children to go to school with full tummies and have capacity to learn. Being able to afford and demand basic healthcare services is essential.
Support organisations in delivering vital healthcare information. Support educational and entrepreneurial project delivered in the poorest areas of the world.
Join us in help making the world a better place.
A place where we can all get vaccinated and have the freedom to travel again.
Donate as little as $10.
Do it once, or make it an automatic monthly donation.
Neema defies paralysis thanks to Cedar Tanzania
What would you do?
Have you ever imagined what your life would look like if an accident was going to happen to you? Would you have the strength to keep going on?
Neema surely has. Seven years ago, Neema went to one of the larger regional hospitals to get treatment for typhoid. Unfortunately, Neema experienced nerve damage during her treatment and lost most of the mobility in her legs.
Neema is now 31 years old and lives with her parents. She relies on their help for all her basic needs. Neema also has three younger siblings who all still go to school.
Being dependent of her parents has had a huge impact on Neema’s mental health. She has been struggling with depression and feelings of being a burden to her family. As the family already lives in poverty having a member of the family not able to contribute financially is a huge strain. On top of that, there are all Neema’s extra medical bills.
Finding Neema
Our Outreach Team met Neema in 2019 and has since been working in close partnership with her and her family. This free service has provided Neema with a variety of treatment options for both her physical and mental health.
With the help of our team, Neema has regained some movement in her legs and has literally taken her first few steps towards independence.
It is Neema’s desire to get to a point where she can support herself and contribute to her family. She is grateful to her family, particularly her parents, for the support they have given her through the difficulty times she has encountered. She hopes she one day will be able to return the kindness she has received.
A new beginning
Neema is excited to start our entrepreneurial training.
She says “I have some basic knowledge on sewing. I learnt a while ago before I suffered from paralysis, and I am confident that I can regain some skills if I will get the opportunity to practice again. It is something am interested about and something I am capable of doing”.
According to Neema’s physiotherapist, the tailoring training will help Neema to re-gain her sewing skills and hopefully help her to earn an income. It will empower and strengthen her emotionally, mentally, and physically. Sewing provides an opportunity to rebuild physical strength and this project also provides her with an opportunity to be surrounded by others who are facing similar challenges.
What is typhoid?
Typhoid is a bacterial disease spread through dirty water and can be life-threatening if not treated.
The residents of Nyamatongo Ward do not have access to treated water. The only water source is water collected from the lake. With no sewage systems in place, long-drops or open defecation is the norm and is naturally led to the water. Typhoid, and other waterborne diseases are very common in the area.
In fact, diarrhea, which is often caused by typhoid, is the biggest cause of death for children under five.
Can you help Neema and people like her?
Will you give a tax-deductible gift to help Neema and others like her become agents of change in their communities?
Your gift can pay for training, material and sewing machines to help people with disabilities learn income-generating skills and challenge social stigma.
Changing Lives begins with you. We can’t do it without you.
How a deaf and mute young man learned a trade in 6 months and now supports his mother and 3 siblings.
Today I am going to tell you about Fred and how our Entrepreneur Program has changed his life.
Despite Fred being both deaf and mute from birth, and growing up in a very poor household, he has been determined to learn a trade and become able to provide for his family.
In this case study I will show you how our Entrepreneur Program makes a real difference for people just like Fred and his family.
Meeting Fred
Fred is a 21-year old young man living in rural Tanzania. Throughout his life Fred has had to rely on his mother for support. Going to school has been particularly hard for Fred as there are not any special education or help available in this poverty-stricken community. Only with the help of his mother he has learned to write and communicate with some simple gestures.
Fred grew up with his single mother and three siblings. It has always been his dream to be able to contribute to the household and to be able to look after his family. Although societies in Tanzania often disregard people with disabilities Fred and his mother never gave up hope.
Reaching Out
Our Outreach Team met Fred and his family on one of their daily rounds in the Nyamatongo Ward where we work. The Outreach Team provide medical healthcare services to people in their own homes for those of the 30,000 residents who are unable to visit our hospital, Kamanga Health Centre.
Often the team stops and talks to families about life and the problems they are experiencing. They will share knowledge on a variety of healthcare topics such as nutrition, and treatments and services available. Sharing their own stories and speaking to people on a daily basis has made this team a trusted part of our community service.
After meeting Fred and his family our team instantly offered him a spot in our Entrepreneur Program. They couldn’t help but feel Fred’s determination and eagerness to be given a chance to learn a trade and finally give something back to his family and community.
Earning a living
Fred joined our Entrepreneur Program in October 2020 and now 6 months later he is well on his way to opening his own tailoring business.
The trainer and Fred’s fellow trainees have publicly acknowledged his passion and commitment to the project and his untiring support of others.
With only a limited number of sewing machines available in our program our students must take turns to practice. This means it takes even longer to gain the practical skills needed to finally be able to live independent lives. Fred is now advocating for more support and funding which could allow us to buy more sewing machines so more people with disabilities can join in the future.
Apart from the practical tailoring skills our program is also teaching the participants simple bookkeeping skills, market research, project planning, and we offer support and help throughout the program.
Living with a disability in Tanzania
In Tanzania, living with a disability has a significant impact on health, education and work possibilities. More than 50% of children suffering from a disability never gets to go to school.
In Tanzania, having a member of the household living with any kind of disability presents a double burden. Just 3% of people with disabilities earn an income from paid employment which means they are extremely vulnerable to abuse and poverty.
This project provides an opportunity for the participants to gain the skills to reach independence and the chance to get a job or to open their own businesses.
It also demonstrates, both to the people living with a disability themselves and to the community, that a disability is a barrier that can and should be challenged.
It provides people living with a disability with an important and valued role within the society showing they are equal members of their communities.
Tanzania in numbers:
There are about 57M people – 68% or nearly 40M people are living in rural areas and most of these are living in poverty. Life expectancy is 65 years.
In fact, 49% of Tanzanians (26M people) are living on less than $1.90 a day. This is the international definition of severe poverty.
Most people, 90%, is living on less than $5 a day. That’s about the amount you spent on that take-away coffee earlier today.
Can you help people like Fred?
Will you give a tax-deductible gift to help more people like Fred to become agents of change in their communities?
Your gift can pay for training, material and sewing machines to help people with disabilities learn income-generating skills and challenge social stigma.