Project Shift

This past week we did our first Skype conference call between the children I work with in Tanzania and an education student in the US. This was a great experience as the kids were able to practice their English and meet the volunteers they will be working with this summer. This experience really marks a shift in the work of Tupo Pamoja. When we first started their was an immediate focus on building a girls school and now we are really interested in partnering with teachers, getting computers & Internet into the classrooms and connecting youth. I look forward to running a Skype conference call with my students at MS 302 in the South Bronx!

Tupo Pamoja (We are Together)

~Lauren

Back from Tanzania~Building the Dream

Hey! My name is Lauren Pluchino and I have a challenge for you. It is my unwavering belief that in 2009 poverty should not limit a child’s right to a quality education. In 2009 low expectations should not be the standard for students living in poverty. I have spent the past year working as a teacher in Mwanza, Tanzania and have witnessed all too well how poverty influences achievement. Witnessing some of my students die from malaria, as well as seeing young girls drop out because of sexual abuse, instilled in me a desire to change the face of who gets an ‘international education’ in East Africa. The discrepancies between those who can afford to pay for a quality education and those who are shoved into small rooms with no books are appalling. I have started an NGO in Tanzania entitled Tupo Pamoja Foundation, translated in English Tupo Pamoja means ‘We are Together.’ We are currently working with gifted but underprivileged youth in Mwanza and seek to build an international girls school in Tanzania—a school that opens its doors to girls who would otherwise never have this opportunity. We currently have a team working with us in Mwanza to assist in this process. This will not be an orphanage or a children's home but a school that hope to mix the different social classes in Tanzania--to provide education for all girls.

We are in the preliminary stages of this and want to keep you updated on the development of the school, challenges we face, and successes along the way! [There will be many] ! Keep updated on more to come and my thoughts on it all as I continue! Enjoy the photos and join us on facebook and twitter! Also check out the youtube video and our website (both of which are in the making) and email me with any questions! Enjoy the pictures!

Cheers,
Lauren