We believe in a lot of things, but something exceptionally important to us here at Extraordinary Journeys is empowering and educating women and children—after all, we’re a team of 20 women, led by a mother-daughter duo, and we know very well the importance of nurturing confidence and independent thinking skills.
According to recent studies, educating and empowering women and girls to realize their full potential may be the most powerful way to break the cycle of poverty and create prosperity in Tanzania, Africa, and globally. And yet, across the developing world, women and girls are consistently marginalized and undervalued. Education beyond primary school is more often than not, unavailable to those living in poverty, regardless of their desire to learn. In families in which funds are limited, boys are usually educated before girls, as the boys are expected to make a long-term economic contribution back to their families.
Nurturing Minds and Secondary Education for Girls Advancement (SEGA) is based in Tanzania and provides high-quality education focused on developing strong values, healthy self-esteem and independence to empower students to effect change for themselves, their families and their communities. That’s why they are the final organization we’re highlighting as part of our #extraordinarygives campaign. Nurturing Mind’s mission is to support quality education, life skills, and entrepreneurship to help vulnerable girls in Tanzania become leaders in their communities.
They have a particular emphasis on girls who are poor, marginalized, and at risk of becoming involved in exploitative forms of child labor. An education from SEGA leads to continuing education, future employment, and ultimately an increased standard of living.
The SEGA Girls School provides quality education to over 1,750 girls per year through continuing education scholarships and community outreach programs. Many of these girls are orphans and who would otherwise not get the chance to attend school.
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world and only 30 per cent of girls in Tanzania attend secondary school. Poverty forces many girls to drop out of school resulting in early marriage and teen pregnancy. Tanzania has one of the world’s highest teenage marriage rate with 37 per cent of girls marrying before the age of 18 and teen pregnancy rates with 121 births per 1,000 girls age 15-19.
The school aims to foster the development of strong values, healthy self-esteem, environmental stewardship and independent thinking skills among its students. Nurturing Minds has a long-term vision to become financially self-sufficient through the development of school-run businesses, a second stream of paying students, an on-going student sponsorship program and an endowment.
The organization provides financial and technical support to programs improving access to quality education for girls in Tanzania. Currently, Nurturing Minds also developing a girls’ secondary boarding school in Morogoro, Tanzania.
Want to help out? You can make a general donation, or contribute to their student sponsorship program.
- $15 per month for 12 months will provide healthcare exams for 12 students
- $27 per month for 12 months will feed one student for an entire year
- $62.50 per month for 12 months will allow you to sponsor a student at the Scholarship Level. Or $208 per month at the Tree of Knowledge Level.
Don’t forget that we’re matching all donations to Nurturing Minds (up to $250) with a voucher towards your next trip with us—just send us the reciept!
If you’re interested in an even larger commitment, like volunteering or visiting SEGA, you can do the following in Tanzania:
They offer week-long or three-month service learning opportunities for volunteers that offer capacity-building skills such as English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and Marketing and Communications. Volunteers can also take part in our annual English Fluency Program to teach English at the school.
You can experience the SEGA Girls’ School firsthand, by staying on campus in the SEGA Lodge. Nestled near the base of the beautiful Uluguru Mountains, the School is located seven miles north of Morogoro, which is located approximately five hours west of Dar es Salaam by car. You’ll experience the school in person and relax in our comfortable lodge while enjoying delicious dishes from your private cook and experiencing the vitality of the vibrant school and nearby cultural exchange activities. All donations from the SEGA Lodge go to support the school. Reach out to our experts to plan your trip now!