Uplifting Communities
Our Story “We will build not just a clinic or some schoolrooms, but a City of Hope…” In 2007, the village of Ntagacha, in northwestern Tanzania, was renowned as a highly-underserved community lacking basic healthcare, schooling, housing and other elementary resources, while clan violence, cattle theft and growing numbers of orphans of the AIDS epidemic were prominent. That year, City of Hope began with a vision. Dr. John N. Chacha had a passion to raise up godly leaders for tomorrow’s Tanzania. He wanted City of Hope to be a place for vulnerable children to receive a safe home, a quality education, healthcare, and a promising future.
Our Future “We will change a village to reach the nations by developing generations of leaders with a profoundly Christian character and worldview, who will lead diligently in wisdom and truth.” Since its founding, the City of Hope has grown to include a Children’s Home, a Medical Center, clean water, farmed crops, a top performing Primary School, a Secondary School with first-class Science and Technology Labs (the first of their kind in the region) and Vocational Training. The future of City of Hope is, as always, divinely appointed and we remain committed to a faithful response to God’s call to action. Building enduring relationships with you to accomplish transformational projects for long-term change is our goal.
Future projects at City of Hope include instituting health and wellness initiatives, growing schooling and teaching capacities, intensive support for our leadership and technology capabilities and building women’s empowerment and mentorship programs. Also, we are providing vocational opportunities, upgrading the athletic fields, expanding the land and housing, and spearheading our community water initiative.
Our Children’s Home “Your parents may have died but your dreams didn’t die.” This home for the children of City of Hope has truly become a place of refuge. When community children lose a parent or a parent is ill, they often become victims of abuse which can take various forms including child marriage. The over 100 orphaned and at-risk children ages 6-16 who came from terrible living conditions, now wake up in a safe and loving home. They have learned to build friendships with other tribes and clans. The home is comprised of dorms for both boys and girls and two common rooms. They receive lots of nurturing and caring attention.
Our Primary School “We will create an environment that allows hope to flourish, allowing children to dream for the first time in their young lives.” Destiny Primary School provides an excellent education for young students who, prior to City of Hope opening its school doors in 2009, had no schooling opportunity. We began teaching in half of the children’s home; now we have our own primary school building. We are dedicated to upholding a standard of excellence for our over 450 students, nursery through Primary 7. We employ highly-qualified educators, teach a cuttingedge curriculum, and apply leadership principles within our programs. As a result, in 2016, our school ranked #1 in our district and in the top 1% out of 22,000 Tanzanian schools on test scores! We also have an excellent brass band.
Our Medical Center “When someone is hopeless, it takes another person to bring hope to them.” In much of rural Tanzania, many die or have their quality of life severely diminished due to disease and ailments that could have been easily cured with routine medical care. Many Ntagacha women were dying in routine childbirth. Infant mortality, waterborne diseases and communicable diseases such as HIV-AIDS and malaria are just a few of the many health challenges in the region. In 2012, the Amani (“Peace” in Swahili) Medical Center was opened to be a beacon of hope in the community. We provide care before, during and after birth. We also care for patients with malaria, wounds, dental needs and more. Health classes are also now taught to village women.
Our Missions Center “If you live a selfish life, it’s not a life fully lived. Helping others brings joy and fulfillment.” One of our first buildings completed, the Missions Center is used to host medical teams, volunteers and child sponsors. It is a fully-equipped lodging facility including a kitchen, living room and dining room. This is the perfect environment for relaxation for those who give their time to serve with us. We are a favorite site for the Duke University Nursing Students’ annual global experiences.
Our Dr. John Chacha Secondary School and Institute of Leadership opened in January 2017. This continues the vision of our founder, Dr. John Chacha, who passed away in a tragic accident in 2015. Our school has subsequently expanded with state-of-the-art labs for Chemistry, Biology and Technology, the first of their kind in the area. This school serves up to 400 students. Our goal is to continue the high educational standards set at our primary school so they may achieve the academic, physical and spiritual growth in order to graduate prepared for an outstanding future. The secondary school has several important collateral benefits. It is bringing new hope to the local community for their children’s futures – prior, the students had to walk about two hours per day often in the dark for even sub-par education. It is keeping young girls from being pressed into FGM (female genital mutilation) and child marriages. It is continuing to teach the children of former enemy clans to become unified and work together. A core component of our curriculum is harvesting leadership qualities in the students. Leadership is action and our children learn to work and to be examples to others. Through student councils and leadership committees, our children problem-solve and take responsibility. We have frequent seminars and conferences with a leadership emphasis. Our children are becoming equipped to be the leaders of tomorrow. Prior to the opening of the Secondary School, the graduates of Destiny Primary School had no options for quality secondary education. We are blessed that Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Virginia offered full scholarships to 33 of our Destiny Primary students. We are grateful for this support and have enjoyed watching these children flourish while at Mountain Mission School. (Unless otherwise attributed, all quotes within this booklet are those of Dr. John Chacha.)
Our Secondary School and Institute of Leadership “My goal is not only to complete my secondary education but to continue with high level education. When I complete my studies, I will like to be a teacher.� - Jenny John Mgaya, COH Student
Dr. John Chacha Founder of City of Hope
Our Women’s Leadership Initiative “Our vision is to take children, discover what their dreams are, and cultivate those dreams. We are teaching the children that ‘though you are born into poverty, poverty does not have to define you’. ”
The Stacey Sauerberg Women’s Leadership Initiative (SSI) was established following the untimely death in 2016 of Stacey Sauerberg, a highly-passionate, engaged volunteer and avid supporter of the City of Hope. SSI advocates Stacey’s life mission of empowering women and nurturing strong relationships through love, wisdom and positivity. This initiative inspires young women to pursue their calling with purpose and to conduct their lives with integrity and in service to others, and discover their strengths through mentorship and a progressive curriculum at the Dr. John Chacha Secondary School and Institute of Leadership. Our goal is to drive transformation by addressing critical issues facing women, starting in the local community and expanding outwards in Tanzania, Africa and beyond. These challenges include limited access to health care and harmful cultural practices like female genital mutilation and the forced marriage of young girls. Additional cultural challenges include violence, limited participation in political and public life, pervasive gender inequality and systems that perpetuate female discrimination. One of the major milestones of the SSI is the opening of the Stacey Sauerberg Technology Center for technical education, connectivity, mentorship and inspirational content at our Secondary School.
Our Sustainability “I like the vision of City of Hope. We thank Dr. Chacha for his efforts to help the people of Tanzania.� – Former President Kikwete of Tanzania City of Hope has farmland and grows corn, beans, bananas and other staples for the children and community. Additionally, City of Hope has milking cows that feed the school children several times per week. In 2012, the Mwenge and delegation of Tanzania were sent to honor our continued progress in agriculture and water collection through cisterns. The children and community are being taught life skills at City of Hope. In addition to agriculture, we offer vocational training to those who have challenges in school or wish to pursue immediate income alternatives to continued education. We have begun teaching sewing classes to the females and will be offering building courses as well as other entrepreneurial options to the children and community.
Your Help Since we broke ground in 2007, we have watched this city grow. Every building and every project has a purpose, and we are seeing the fruits of their impact. However, we have much yet to accomplish in order to continue with the mission and vision to help the children and community of Ntagacha and to extend these successes outwards to transform the future. There are several ways to get involved to help City of Hope realize its vision and dreams.
Sponsor A Child
For $35 a month you can become personally involved in the life of one special child who will know your name, write to you and feel your tender love and prayers. For $420 you will help to sponsor one child for a year.
“Our donors understand that the secret to happiness in life is to give generously to those who are in need. And it starts with you.”
Donate
Every bit helps. You can choose a special project to support or give a general donation. Special projects:
Hudson Mahare, Executive Director, Tanzania
• Capital projects • SSI • Education (Scholarship) Fund Your donation will not only improve the life of a child, but an entire village, and eventually an entire nation.
Regina Chacha, Co-Founder and International Executive Director
Give online at www.teamworkcityofhope.com
PO Box 4001 Martinsville, VA 24115 276-632-8477 info@teamworkcityofhope.com For quick and easy options to support us, you can also go to our website at teamworkcityofhope.com and select “Sponsor A Child” or “Donate.” Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Teamwork City of Hope! We post on-the-ground news, ways to support us and pictures from TCOH.