Destination Tanzania

Our sophomore seminar class focuses on community service. Our group chose to organize a drive for underprivileged children. We chose children living in poverty in Tanzania because a student in our group was planning to travel there over her spring break and could deliver the supplies. We decided that the best approach was to ask for donations of school supplies from our school community, because these are both scarce and necessary for these children. In addition, we asked for soccer balls for the children’s free time. It was our goal to assist these children in having an improved life at school.

The supplies drive at Lake Forest Academy was very successful. We placed boxes in a busy area of the school and made announcements at school meetings to raise awareness of the project. Our group designed posters that hung around the school and stated the need for helping our project. Students were urged to give any school supplies they didn’t need, and the outpouring of materials expressed a strong sense of giving in our community.

The student that travelled to Tanzania had a great experience. She travelled to six schools in the area, but the one that we dedicated the most time to was the Sangara School with two sessions of 500 students. The children were incredibly excited to have a visitor and welcomed her with dances and songs. They were appreciative of the school supplies and couldn’t wait to use their new soccer balls. The student remembers it as a great experience and our group was happy to see the direct effect of the goods we obtained.