Faraja must go back to school

This is Faraja, 15 years old and mother to her son Junior. Faraja is living in the city of Dar es Salaam and she is living together with her aunt, little nephews, nieces and her grandmother. The parents of Faraja died when she was still a child and since then she was raised by her grandmother.

In 2019 Faraja got pregnant and as a result from her pregnancy she was forced to leave the school she was attending. In Tanzania, this is the consequence for young girls whom got pregnant while still at school. To prevent Faraja being trapped in poverty, people from outside of Tanzania made sure Faraja could continue her lessons at a private school. Nonetheless, in order to go to this school, she needs someone to look after her child. Up until a couple of weeks ago her aunt would watch her son whilst Faraja could go to school. However, this aunt recently died of aids and therefore Faraja was forced to stop going to school again.

As a child, Faraja has the right to education. Right now, she is not able to enjoy this right. That’s the reason why, as an intern of the Non-Governmental Organization Art in Tanzania, I want to raise awareness for her current situation. As a solution, we want to send her son to a daycare so Faraja can attend school again.

The costs of daycare in Tanzania are around 1,980,000 TZS, per year which is around 706 EU or 854 USD. This amount contains the school fee, school uniform and diapers which have to be purchased separately). Faraja has to attend 1 ½ years of ordinary secondary school until it can be decided if her grades are good enough to move on to the advanced secondary school. Therefore, she needs money to pay for at least 1 ½ years of daycare. This makes an amount of 2,970,000 TZS, which is around 1058 EU or 1281 USD.

Because of the care for her son, Faraja is not able to work and since her grandmother is over 70, the family has no income. They therefore rely on help. I want to ask you to help Faraja’s son go to daycare, so she can go back to school again. We put together a fundraising, and we would be very thankful if you are willing to donate so we can make the dreams of Faraja come true.

Thank you, Asante Sana

Eva Beentjes