2016 Achievements
We have received an awesome amount of support and we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for believing in us. The constant change and growth of the school project and the smiling faces that we see on the little girls show us how generous people have been in supporting True Grasses work, a cause that we are extremely passionate about and certainly has kept us going. We also want to say a huge thank you to our dedicated staff in Tanzania. We started the year 2016 with a very solid focus on the school project in Masaki, Kisarawe as we continue investing in education that will have a multiplicative positive effect that will influence future generations in the area.
Community water well
Sungwi and Masaki villages in Kisarawe where the school project is located has never-ending water problems and villagers together with their animals have and are always on the constant search of fresh water for their use and animals. True Grasses Tanzania Trust (TGTT) started drilling a water well on the school project land since in 2015 and this year 2016 we finished the well that is now serving the six villages of Kisanga, Mtembetini, Mkololo, Sungwi, Masaki and Mji Mpya with fresh clean drinking water. The well has reduced the time, distances and finances that women and young girls walk to find fresh water for their own use.
School and community football field
True Grasses Tanzania Trust built a football field on its school project land that will be used by both the School and the community. Every evening after work, village youths and men meet daily on this sports field to play football as a way of spending their leisure time and bonding as a community. Before that, the youths have been engaging in smoking, idling and other non productive activities but now with this football field there is joy to the whole community and we as an organisation we are happy to see change and hope in the community youths.
Pearl Nursery School
The day care centre was started in 2014 in Moshi where the True Grasses Tanzania Trust office is located. And we have been able to serve the community for the last three years providing children between 2 years to four yours with quality education and we have been able to pass out thirty children to join primary school. This year True Grasses Tanzania Trust board decided that we close the day care centre in Moshi and relocate it to the new school project land in Kisarawe to cut down the costs of managing two places (this is also due to the relocation of the founders themselves). So, Pearl Day Care Moshi centre was officially closed at the end of this year and will be relocated to Kisarawe where we see more need and no single day care centre in the entire six villages.
Pay-it-Forward Micro Credit project
We have continued with the Pay it forward in kind credit scheme to very poor families by giving them piglets or chickens that they can support their own families and be able to pay schools fees for their daughters. These programs have so far benefited five families and have been able to pay forward to other new beneficiaries and we hope that we will benefit more families.
School Cashew Nut farm
True Grasses Tanzania Trust identified Sungwi- Kisarawe as our major area of focus. Sungwi has fertile land but the villagers have destroyed the land by cutting down the trees and constant burning of the grass to clear their land for farming. True Grasses Tanzania Trust decided to start a demonstration farm on the school project land to act as a model farm to the community so we started to take care of the cashew nut trees that were found on the school project land plus planting more trees. The cashew nuts are now back to life and in constant production.
