Tanzania: programs & priorities

ChildFund Australia's affiliate organisation in Tanzania works in partnership with Chama Cha Wakina Mama Na Watoto (WAMATO), with program work based in two urban locations within the precincts of the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.

ChildFund in Tanzania believes that education is a great equaliser. In Tanzania, educational support is focused on the provision of scholastic supplies, giving children the tools they need to attend and succeed in school. This includes the provision of uniforms, school supplies and the payment of school fees. ChildFund in Tanzania also provides teachers with the books they need to teach effectively, and has plans to renovate and construct classrooms in order to complete a local school.

ChildFund in Tanzania is also focused on improving the health and nutrition of children, by providing supplementary food where necessary. Children are monitored by a medical professional in order to identify those who are malnourished or severely malnourished. Those children are then treated through nutrition and supplements for a period of five months.

Ante and post-natal clinics are available for mothers of the community, and medications and immunisations are supplied for those in need.

Development in progress

ChildFund in Tanzania has launched a new micro-enterprise development program. Loans have been provided, in conjunction with a credit cooperative society, to 300 community members, forming 10 groups.

This program has enabled the female beneficiaries and other members of the community to improve not only their own socio-economic status, but that of the community as a whole.

The program provides participants with training on how to run a small business in order to prepare them for receiving and properly utilising the loan. ChildFund in Tanzania then supervises and monitors the administration of repayment of the loans.