AN N UAL R EPO RT 2015 O P PO R T U N I T Y T H R O U G H E D U C AT I O N
ABOUT US ASAP is building schools ASAP is building schools and improving the quality of and improving the education for children of quality of education for underserved, rural communities children of underserved, in East Africa. Why? rural communities in East Africa. Why?
Because education, more so than any other sector of development, seeds dramatic improvement in poverty reduction, gender parity, health outcomes, child immunization, AIDS prevention, environmental protection and wildlife conservation. Simply put, widely available public education Because education, more so than any other sector of will lead to a prosperous, peaceful and sustainable future for development, seeds dramatic improvement in poverty reducti Africa.
gender parity, health outcomes, child immunization, AIDS prevention, environmental protection and wildlife conservatio Simply put, widely available public education will lead to a prosperous, peaceful and sustainable future for Africa.
LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR “Education is the best weapon we have to fight poverty, ignorance and terrorism.”
-- Malala Yousafzai, Education advocate, 2013 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Dear Friends, The world is a troubled place but I believe the future holds great promise. While humanity faces ever more pressing challenges, more children around the globe are attending school and international rabble rousing for girl’s education is growing every year. Why does this matter so greatly? We already know education reduces poverty, maternal deaths, child marriage and disease. It increases health outcomes and gender equality. But, if Malala is right, and I believe she is, these trends in global education also mean young people will be better prepared to create a more peaceful future for everyone. But despite great progress, millions of children are still denied their right to education. That is why ASAP remains committed to improving access to quality education in rural African communities, particularly for girls. 2015 was our eighth year developing school infrastructure and education programs in Tanzania and I am tremendously proud of our progress. Since 2008, ASAP has: • Partnered with beneficiary communities to develop primary and secondary schools for over 2,000 students each year in the Arusha and Mwanza Regions. • Improved academic performance with teacher training, books, computers, curriculum enhancements and school lunch programs. • Built the beautiful Nathan Yip Dormitory so that 96 girls per year don’t have to walk long distances to secondary school, putting them at risk of attack and early pregnancy. • Developed The Kupanda Project for Girls, a replicable and holistic model for improving girl’s secondary school completion rates in rural communities. • Led over 135 volunteers to Africa, a dedicated and fun-seeking bunch who contribute time and treasure to ensure that Tanzanian children have access to school. • Created powerful partnerships with Let Girls Learn, Clinton Global Initiative, Brookings Institute CHARGE for Girls, and Gucci’s Chime For Change. None of this work would have been possible without you, our loyal supporters and partners. I hope you continue to support our work, volunteer with us in Africa and help spread the word about the importance of education for all. I sincerely believe the best is yet to come, but only if we continue to press for a world in which every child is given the chance to gain knowledge, overcome adversity and is empowered to find his or her own voice. Thank you on behalf of the ASAP Board of Directors and the rest of the ASAP team,
Susan Bachar Executive Director
2015 PROJECTS NATHAN YIP DORMITORY FOR GIRLS IDETEMYA SECONDARY SCHOOL MWANZA REGION, NORTHERN TANZANIA Girls in rural Tanzanian communities are forced to walk long distances to reach school, putting them at risk of exhaustion and attack/early pregnancy. As awareness rises about the importance of girl’s education, community members and government leaders are increasingly calling for dormitories to provide girls a protected place to live and study. For this reason, ASAP prioritized its first girl’s dormitory and, with tremendous support from The Nathan Yip Foundation of Denver, CO, built this beautiful facility that exceeds local standards. The secure compound houses 96 girls each year (24 girls each from Forms I-IV) and two matrons. Facilities have solar power, clean drinking water and 24-hour security and include two dormitories with bedrooms, common rooms for studying/ socializing and computer rooms; bathrooms with toilets, sinks and showers; and kitchen/dining pavilion. Built to honor the life of Nathan Yip from Denver CO, the dorm serves as the hub for The Kupanda Project for Girls™ (see next page).
SCHOOL DORMITORY WATER SYSTEM IDETEMYA SECONDARY SCHOOL MWANZA REGION, NORTHERN TANZANIA With financial support from the Denver SE Rotary Club, ASAP developed a sustainable water system for the 96 girls living in the Idetemya Secondary School dormitory. The system involved several surveys (the school is in a very dry area), drilling a borehole, casting the well, hand pump and filter. In the next phase, we hope to install a solar-powered electric pump and plumbing system to the kitchen and bathrooms (they are currently serviced by a rainwater harvesting system).
2015 PROJECTS THE KUPANDA PROJECT FOR GIRLS™ The Kupanda Project™ is an innovative model to comprehensively support girls to gain a quality secondary school education in rural Tanzania. The idea is simple – bring together, under one program, myriad supports for Tanzanian girls so they can safely access school and complete their lower secondary education (Forms 1-4). Kupanda isn’t innovating the underlying interventions but rather combining them into a simple, replicable model. We believe this nexus between “tried and true” and innovation is where the most exciting potential lies to improve the overall resiliency of adolescent girls in Sub Saharan Africa. “Kupanda” = 1. To rise. 2. To grow or cultivate. (Swahili) The Kupanda Project™, launching in early 2016 will initially target rural girls in northern Tanzania and seek to increase their graduation rates to between 50-80% (from the current 4%) by the end of 2019. Once this program demonstrates success, ASAP will replicate it throughout Tanzania and other East African nations.
BOOKS AND SCHOLARSHIPS! ASAP provided thousands of textbooks and study guides to improve student learning at our schools. We also sponsored individual scholars from our schools who show particular academic promise but come from impoverished families and could not otherwise afford the ongoing cost of school.
PAST PROJECTS MBASSENY PRIMARY SCHOOL
Mbasseny was the first focus of American volunteers who traveled to Tanzania to build a school in the summer of 2008. The village had a one room schoolhouse in very poor condition. With no glass on the windows and no desks, the children were forced to sit on dirt floors that turned to mud in the rainy season. The roof leaked and teaching conditions were difficult. Still, the children were desperate for an education and many stood outside the building in hopes of someday making it inside the school. Today, after six years of ASAP project assistance, the Mbaaseny Primary School has eight classrooms with windows, desks, teacher housing, toilets, a kitchen, playing grounds and over 450+ students. For the last three consecutive years 100% of the standard seven class has passed the national exam and matriculated to secondary school.
KIRENGA PRIMARY SCHOOL
Kirenga Primary School was a little one room school only three kilometers from the village of King’ori, the main market town of the district. It was in a similar condition to most Tanzanian community schools—those built by villagers who have an income of less than $1 per day per family. In 2009, ASAP decided the school was extremely worthy of assistance. Over the course of four years, ASAP helped construct a four classroom school building (complete with glass windows, desks and books), then a second building with three more classrooms, a soccer field, a kitchen with a fuel-efficient stove, a toilet building, a rain-water capture system/cistern for clean drinking water and an outdoor classroom with a gazebo (to provide additional learning space when the weather is dry).
MIRIRINI SECONDARY SCHOOL
The Miririni Secondary School is located in the Momela Lakes region of the Leguruki ward. The school’s first two classrooms were built entirely by the Miririni villagers in order to provide their children with a secondary education which was not accessible before 2008. After the village completed the first two classrooms, ASAP stepped in to help the school construct two more in 2009. In 2012 ASAP completed two additional classrooms, giving the school a total of six.
CHOLE PRIMARY SCHOOL
In 2008, the village of Chole was created in a rural community on the banks of Lake Victoria in Northern Tanzania. The community struggled to construct a primary school so their small children were forced to walk several kilometers each day to a neighboring school (creating an overcrowding problem) or to simply stay out of school altogether. In November 2013, ASAP met with community leaders and formed a strong partnership to help build their school. We constructed the school in 2014 and it is now serving 450 children.
VOLUNTEERS “Before we left for Tanzania, the project manager said: ‘Until you get here, you cannot know how significant your contribution is and how deeply it is valued. This is a life-changing experience for the village…’ Each word proved true. It was, and is, significant and deeply-valued, by both the Americans and the Tanzanians. It was life-changing – for us all.” - 2014 ASAP volunteer
Each year, ASAP volunteers venture to Tanzania to help build community schools in rural areas of northern Tanzania. Our High School Volunteer and Friends & Family Volunteer groups come together to lend a hand in the construction of a school. At the end of each work day, volunteers enjoy camping along the shores of beautiful Lake Victoria, playing soccer with local children and enjoying local food and conversation around the campfire. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all!
NEW ADDITIONS We are thrilled to announce an important new addition to our staff! Kupanda Project Manager: Aretha Alicia joined our staff to oversee implementation of The Kupanda Project for Girls™, our new model to improve secondary school completion rates for girls in rural Tanzania through a holistic, “whole girl” approach. With a Master’s Degree in Community Development and professional experience in Female Empowerment, this powerful Tanzanian woman will ensure our programs remain effective and culturally appropriate.
We thank all of our partners and supporters and look forward to all that we will accomplish together in 2016!
FINANCIAL REPORT Sources of Income
Allocation of Funds
Total Income: $333,833 Programmatic Growth Total Expenditures: $304,878
Audited Financials ASAP has its accounts independently audited. To request a copy of our audited financials, please email us at: Info@AfricaSchoolAssistanceProject.org
MAJOR SUPPORTERS Nathan Yip Foundation Sun Partners International Stone Family Foundation Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation Fulcrum Foundation Records-Johnston Family Foundation Denver SE Rotary Club Laney Family Foundation Dolan Family Fund RCF Foundation
MEMBERSHIPS Clinton Global Initiative Let Girls Learn The Brookings Institute Girls’ CHARGE Initiative Gucci’s CHIME For Change Posner Center for International Development
MAJOR PARTNERS Venture Architecture University of Colorado Denver Tech For All Femme International The Foundation For Tomorrow
WHO WE ARE Executive Director Susan Bachar Africa Project Director Zach Swett Regional Project Coordinator Jackson Nzemya Kupanda Project Manager Aretha Alicia Special Projects Coordinator Dee Boukouzis
Board of Directors
Beth Ganz, Chair Charles Musiba, Vice-Chair Brian Dolan, Treasurer Erika Hollis, Secretary Steve Bachar Pete Boukouzis Ginger Broaddhus Mark Eddy David Falicia Denise Goldin-Dubois Alice Madden Lorez Meinhold
CONTACT US
191 UNIVERSITY BOULEVARD #285, DENVER, CO 80206 INFO@AFRICASCHOOLASSISTANCEPROJECT.ORG WWW.AFRICASCHOOLASSISTANCEPROJECT.ORG