Sponsor A Pupil

Further education and higher education in Tanzania has to be paid for in full, along with all other associated costs. Because of the remoteness and poverty of the Meserani District, young people in this area who are successful at secondary school and are selected for further education, are not able to progress because of the costs. The Meserani Project is facilitating the sponsorship of students from the Meserani District who achieve a place at high school, college or university. There are two options for potential sponsors:

1. You can sponsor a student to study A’ Levels for two years at a high school (these are students who have achieved the necessary pass marks in their final examinations at secondary school). If you sponsor a student to attend one of these schools, not only will you be providing them with their two years of further education, but you will also be providing them with accommodation, food, transport costs, text books, paper, writing equipment, scientific calculator, subject specific equipment, personal clothing and uniform, footwear, sports kit, a metal security box, a mattress, blanket & bedsheets, a mosquito net,

• The cost to fund a student through two years of further education is £320 a year (£640 for the full two years) – equating to £6.14 for each week of the year – two pints of beer or a decent bottle of wine each week!

2. You can sponsor a student to study a three-year degree course at university (these are students who have achieved the necessary pass marks in their A’ Level examinations). Universities are residential, so you will be providing them with the same resources as those being sponsored through A’ Levels. Students at universities also require substantial extra resources such as laptops and subject specialist equipment.

• Many of our university sponsors ‘share’ the sponsorship, in which case the cost is £320 a year for three years – equating to £6.14 for each week of the year – two pints of beer or a decent bottle of wine each week! For those who wish to be the sole sponsor, the cost to fund a student through three years of university is £640 a year – equating to £8.28 for each week of the year – four pints of beer or a couple of decent bottles of wine each week!

Selecting Pupils: The students who are selected to be sponsored are originally identified by a committee of people who work voluntarily on our behalf in Tanzania, (teachers, village elders and community leaders.). The criteria is that the personal circumstances of the students are such that they simply would not be able to afford to go to further or higher education, and would be left with no future once they had finished secondary school or A’ Level studies – many of the pupils selected have lost one or both of their parents to AIDS or malaria. The pupils identified by the committee must be good attenders, be personally motivated, and have achieved the necessary pass marks in their final year at secondary school or A’ Level studies. Once a number of pupils have been identified by the committee, we will make a final decision on who should be sponsored dependent on the number of sponsors that we have. A’ Level studies begin in July, and university courses begin in October.

If you do wish to go ahead and sponsor a student through their two years of further education or three years at university, please let us know. There are currently 47 young people being sponsored through further and higher education, all by individual people, families or groups who have become aware of the project and what it does. The young people who are being sponsored love to know everything about their sponsors, so we do ask sponsors to provide us with photos and letters about themselves, which we take over with us when we go to Tanzania. We visit Meserani at least twice each year to monitor the progress and attendance of everyone, and we bring you back details of their progress when available. We keep in touch with students throughout the year, and we also have a contact in Meserani who acts as a link between us, teachers, and everyone being sponsored.

Anyway, a bit long-winded, but at least you have the full picture. If there is anything further that you wish to know please visit our website: www.meseraniproject.co.uk or do not hesitate to contact us at: meserani@hotmail.co.uk