Our Unite team is now carefully reviewing applications for our next class of A-level scholars (2023-2025). Please review below a handful of the many dozens of teens who are desperately in need of sponsorship.
To make a donation to HELP sponsor a Unite scholar, click HERE.
Note: Our Unite sponsorship includes academic, social, and professional support (e.g. school fees; all school-related supplies; all personal items; access to a cell phone and laptop; transportation; health insurance; one-to-one mentor support; and extensive training in critical life skills, the soft skills of professionalism, entrepreneurship, organic gardening, and environmental conservation); paid internships with Unite Food Program and other Tanzanian businesses; career guidance; networking support; and more. A full sponsorship is $2,000 a year (not including mentor and staff fees). We welcome any size contributions.
LENI JAEMIA MLAJILE
Leni, 17, lives in Mbarali district of southern Tanzania with her mother, a peasant farmer, and five brothers and sisters in a rented space. After Leni’s father’s untimely death in 2009, his relatives took all the family assets, leaving Leni’s mother with nothing. Leni’s mother suffers from chronic illness and she has never been able to earn enough money to help her children' through primary and lower-secondary school. Leni’s uncle has helped as best he could, but Leni’s older siblings are out of school and working as day laborers. Oftentimes throughout her education, Leni has been banned from classrooms due to her family’s inability to pay. Throughout her secondary school years, Leni went without soap and personal hygiene items as well as necessary clothes and exercise books. Yet somehow, despite her hardships, Leni managed to perform extremely well, earnings A in all of her subjects. In November 2022 she graduated from Msalato Girls lower secondary school, and she is now home waiting for the results of her Form Four examinations. Click HERE to see Leni show us her home.
SWAUMU NURUDINI ISSA
Swaumu, 17, is from Newala, Tanzania. She lives with her mother, a peasant farmer, and her 10-year-old sister. Her step-father — also a peasant farmer — is married to a second wife and has another child with her. Swaumu’s mother was only able to attend school until she was 10 years old after which time — due to extreme poverty — she dropped from school to work as a day laborer and domestic servant. Shortly thereafter she had Swaumu. While Swaumu’s family is extremely poor and struggles to even provide enough food to eat, they are enthusiastic about Swaumu’s education. Thanks to the kindness of Good Samaritans and the careful attention of her teachers, Swaumu was able to excel throughout lower-secondary school earning As in all of her subjects. She graduated from Kilakala Girls School in November 2022 and is now waiting for the results from her Form Four National Examination. To see a video of Swaumu, click HERE.
ANGELA NICOLAUS MAKYAO
Angela, 17, lives in the Kilolo District of Iringa, Tanzania, with her mother and three younger half siblings. Angela’s mother was only able to complete primary school (~grade 7) due to her family’s extreme poverty, and she struggles to support her children by working as a peasant farmer. Angela has never known her father and the father of her siblings abandoned Angela’s mother and her siblings long ago. Angela and her family live in a small hand-made house that is covered with grasses, which serve as a roof. To help her family survive, Angela has been working as a day laborer since she was 10 years old before and after school and over all school holidays. While Angela has never had proper uniforms, books, or school supplies, due to the kindness of teachers who took pity on her and pooled their meager resources to provide her with essentials, Angela managed to earn all As. In November 2022, Angela graduated from the Msalato Secondary School and is now waiting to receive the results of her Form Four National Examination. Click HERE to see a video of Angela.
MASOUD SALEHE KITOBOLI
Masoud, 17, lives in the Kaliua district of western Tanzania in a small single-room house. He lives with his mother and six siblings (all of whom have different fathers). Masoud’s mother struggles to support the family by working as food vendor and a peasant farmer. Masoud has never met his father and none of his siblings’ fathers provide any assistance. Masoud began working with his mother in the local food markets when he was just five years old — selling spinach, sweet potatoes, and groundnuts. What he couldn’t sell, he would barter with other families for maize. Often Masoud and his siblings do not have enough food to eat throughout the year. Masoud was delayed to start primary school as he was working to help his mother; however, a local school teacher caught sight of him and encouraged the family to send him to school. Despite all odds, Masoud excelled in school and finished his primary level with all As. From there he went to the Tabora Boys for lower secondary school and earned 1st place in a class of 129. Masoud graduated from Tabora Boys in November 2022 and is now waiting for the results of his Form Four National Examinations. Click HERE to see a video of Masoud in his family home.
RHODA MERIKI STANLEY
Rhoda, 16, lives with her mother and two younger siblings, Rose and Ebinezer (pictured above), in Tabora, Tanzania. Rhoda’s father abandoned the family in 2018 and hasn’t been heard from since. Rhoda’s mother works as a tailor and struggles to earn enough money not only to pay rent on their small rented room but also to feed Rhoda and her siblings one meal a day. Through the charity of Good Samaritans, Rhoda was able to attend Tabora Girls for lower secondary school. She never had pocket money or the necessary uniforms, books, or school supplies; however, Rhoda still managed to perform in excellence. In November 2022, she graduated from Tabora Girls School and is now waiting to receive the results of her Form Four National Examination. Click HERE to see Rhoda’s home tour.
JENSEN HUMPHREY NGOWI
Jensen, 18, lives in Arusha with his widowed grandmother. His mother lives in Dar es Salaam with Jensen’s three siblings from another father. Jensen grew up in Dar with his mother until his father abandoned them. His mother tried earning a living by cooking bites and selling them in the streets, but she and Jensen suffered greatly, so she sent Jensen to live with his grandmother so that he would have food. Jensen has always been extremely bright and thankfully members of his church have helped to support him by providing him the essentials for school. In November 2022, Jensen graduated from Tabora Boys lower secondary school, and he is now waiting to receive his Form Four National Examination results. Click HERE to see a video of Jensen at his home place.
NEEMA JOHN CHAMBOGA
Neema, 18, is from the Membegu village in southern Tanzania. She lives alone with her mother, a peasant farmer, in an unfinished house with a dirt floor and a leaf-roof. Three of her older siblings have passed away. One older sister as been working as a house girl since she was 12 years old to earn money to help support Neema and their mother. Neema’s other older sister is a peasant farmer raising four children of her own. Neema’s father died in 2020. The cause of death was unidentified. Neema is the first in her family to attend school beyond the primary level (~12 years old). Neema has been working alongside her mother as a day-laborer in other people’s farms since she was eight years old. She has also been selling fruits in the streets since her early childhood. Neema’s church raised funds to pay for Neema’s bus fare to go to Kilakala lower secondary school in January 2019. While at Kilakala, Neema could not even afford the 6,000 TSH (~$2.80) required for writing paper, so again members of her church stepped forward to pool funds to get her the basics for her studies (as well as soap and personal hygiene items). Despite her hardships, Neema performed extremely well and graduated from Kilakala in November 2022. Neema is now waiting to receive her Form Four National Examination results. Click HERE to see a video of Neema at her home place.
BARNABA ZAKARIA MADIRISHA
Barnaba, 19, lives in Tanga, Tanzania, with his mother and father (both of whom work as small-scale farmers) and four brothers and sisters. Barnaba has struggled throughout his school years to get his basic needs — school books, uniforms, transport money, etc. The stress of his family life, he reports, gave him stomach ulcers and eye problems which became so disabling that he missed a year of school. Slowly, Barnaba recovered and in November 2022 Barnaba graduated from Mzumbe Boys lower secondary school. Now, while he is waiting for his Form Four National Examination results, Barnaba is working with his parents in their small family farm to help earn money. Click HERE to see Barnaba at his home.
JACKLINE MANGA VICENT
Jackline, 16, is from the Singida region of Tanzania. She is the second born of five children. One day in 2019 Jackline’s father walked her to school (as he did every day), and on his way home he was hit by a car and died. Since then, the family has suffered immensely. Jackline’s mother started selling fruits in the streets to earn a tiny income to provide for her children, but her earnings have never been enough. Thanks to the kindness of Good Samaritans, Jackline was able to succeed in school (by getting such items as pens and paper, soaps and personal hygiene supplies, and transport money to go home). In November 2022, Jackline graduated from Tabora Girls lower secondary school, and she is now home waiting for her Form Four National Examination results. Click HERE to see Jackine’s home tour.
SIMPOLIANA XAVERY LUOGA
Simpoliana, 17, lives in the Ludewa District of the Njombe Region, Tanzania. Simpoliana’s father has two wives and seven children. Her father’s first wife died and left three children. Simpoliana’s mother, the second wife, is still alive and has four children. Simpoliana is her second born. Both of Simpoliana’s parents are peasant farmers. Simpoliana was supported through primary school by the goodwill of international travelers to Tanzania. Through her lower secondary school her parents struggled to pay her fees, going without salt and sugar to give all they could towards her education. Even then, Simpoliana didn’t have soap or books of her own. Despite her hardships, she performed extremely well and graduated from Kilakala Girls School in November 2022. Simpoliana is now waiting to receive her Form Four National examination results. Click HERE to see a video of Simpoliana.
GLORY DAMAS GIMARI
Glory, 17, is from Kigoma district, Tanzania. Glory’s father left her mother during her pregnancy with Glory. The father of Glory’s 14-year-old brother Goodluck rejected their mother as well, so the children were sent to live with their grandparents. Despite her extreme poverty and hardships (never having enough food or money for books or necessary school supplies), Glory performed extremely well in school. However, because she and her brother have different fathers (and they have two additional younger siblings from another father), Glory was ostracized at school and teased for having a “prostitute” as a mother. Glory graduated lower secondary from Tabora Girls School in November 2022, and she is currently awaiting her Form 4 National examination results. Click HERE to see Glory show us where she lives with her grandparents.
Note: All final acceptances for our next class of Unite Scholars will be made early January. Acceptances will depend on how the candidates score in their Form Four National Examinations. How many students we take on as Unite Scholars will depend on the success of Unite’s end-of-year fundraising. Please contact anne@uniteafricafoundation.org with any questions.