Godparents for Tanzania is a group that supports the children of Tanzania so that they may attend secondary school, college or university. Traveling with them will give you a taste of how wonderfully warm and welcoming the Tanzanian people are. You will also learn how true it is that school is their way out of poverty. We have had the wonderful opportunity to sponsor two young Tanzanians - a goddaughter in secondary school and a godson in university. Our godson is just now completing his university training and will graduate in November but he has already committed to sponsoring two children himself. What a testament to what Godparents for Tanzania represents!!
Steve and Kathy Arle
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We learned about Godparents for Tanzania (G4TZ) when Pastor Dwayne Westermann, G4TZ founder and President, spoke at our church. We later decided to go on one of their Discover Safari trips and to sponsor a Tanzanian student. We’ve given to other organizations and have participated in several hands-on “mission trips”, but this trip felt very different. We didn’t help build anything or serve the people medically, but we learned about what living on $1 or less a day really means. We learned what “subsistence farming” really means: spending long hours farming your small plot of land, hoping for enough food to feed your family and sell a little – and to then earn $50 per year for your efforts. We learned about students who walk 1½ hours each way to school, do their chores when they finally get home and then study by kerosene lamps – all because they know that an education is their only hope of escaping a lifetime of poverty. We learned about a pastor so committed to helping Maasai girls escape genital mutilation and early marriage to older men that he and his wife housed 7 girls in their home until the school they were building was completed.
We knew before we left on our trip that our “godchild” was a young girl who had no hope of attending secondary school without the help of sponsors, because her family is so poor. For just over $500 a year, we can give her that opportunity – a fact that still amazes us. We were able to meet her during our trip – a meeting that changed our lives. We knew that without an education, she was destined to staying home with her mother and siblings, getting married and having babies, and then struggling to be able to feed, nourish and educate those babies. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to help this young woman.
We would encourage you to support the work of Godparents for Tanzania – and to go on one of their Discovery Safari trips. Witnessing the relationships that G4TZ has developed with the Tanzanians was humbling. The wildlife game drives we went on were wonderful, but getting to know the kind and gentle Tanzanian people was the highlight of the trip. Meeting the children who overcome incredible obstacles for an education that will change their lives was inspiring.
Steve and Kathy Arle
Salem, Virginia
After visiting Tanzania with this group in 2008, I was thrilled to be offered a position on the board. In addition to raising awareness how we promote education and self-sustainment in Tanzania, I am specifically working on funding the education of Clinical Officers. This is so important to me because I have seen first hand how the extreme shortage of medical providers affects the people of Tanzania. After getting to know the board members more personally I am proud to be a member of an organization where you know everyone truly believes in what we are doing. When you donate to this charity you can feel confident that your money is going as far as possible and likely changing lives in very significant ways.
At the encouragement of others, I traveled to Tanzania to experience the place and people; and as expected discovered the context of place to be wonderfully different from my own, yet the content of life brought me close to the people. The welcome, hospitality, and spirit of giving was humbling - we discovered the intersection of needs and gifts, of shared life in very different places, of relationship as sisters and brothers. In providing a scholarship gift through Godparents for Tanzania, we have remained connected in community and built family relationships. I have given little, and received much. The gift of a scholarship for education can make a life giving change for the student ... and for you. I have experienced this blessing.
I give thanks to God for Godparents for Tanzania. I have traveled with them in Tanzania, met the most amazing people, stayed in comfortable and safe accommodations and learned about life in Tanzania. I have also been able to support students and churches. I am so proud to think that through Godparents for Tanzania I have been part of building a church, educating doctors and helping children get an education that gives them to tools to free themselves from poverty. Thank you for all you do.
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