Scholarships /Educational Support for OVC
We give hope to some of Tanzania’s orphans and Vulnerable Children
It is well known that lack of education is a leading cause of abject poverty in the developing countries like Tanzania. At the most basic level, children must have the opportunity to attend school so they can become part of the agent for changing the system and achieving personal success in life. This is where OMAWA comes in. Our goal is to provide resources to allow orphans and vulnerable children who without our support could not get the opportunity to pursue quality education.
The Tanzanian government school system is constructed differently than that in the Western countries. The major technical difference is that in Tanzania school is not totally free as understood and experienced in the western where every child has the right to attend school where they can receive basic necessities for their learning. In Tanzania, most schools especially those in the rural and marginalized communities suffer severe lack of materials which children need in order to learn. The average Tanzanian family lives on less than $1.00-$2.00 a day and cannot afford the luxury of education for their children and the situation is extremely bad for orphans and vulnerable children. As a result, in Tanzania going to schools that are well equipped is generally considered a privilege.
Financial issue as a major obstacle for many Tanzanian children’s education:
Students are required to pay school fees, for uniforms, food, learning materials and if they are placed in a school away from home, boarding fees.
Our main project is helping and assisting orphans and vulnerable children in the Moshi rural district in Northern Tanzania. Many people view the millions of children left as orphans as the greatest scourge or burden of the AIDS pandemic. However, OMAWA believes passionately in their massive potential and we are helping them to reach it.
With your help OMAWA is giving many Tanzania orphans and vulnerable children the chance to realize their full potential. We are committed to investing in their futures, believing that many will become leaders, and hope that they will be able to mobilize their communities.
The AIDS pandemic will have an impact on Tanzania for decades to come. It requires innovative, replicable, long term, sustainable, visionary solutions – not short term fixes. We believe that developing and sharing knowledge and building human capacity are the best ways to bring about long term change.
Earning a living is crucial, especially for teenagers in child-headed households looking after siblings at home.
Sponsorship Program
OMAWA continue to focus on providing educational support to Orphans and vulnerable children with a specific focus on children affected/infected with HIV/AIDS as well as girls. Among the children supported are those living with HIV positive caregivers/parents, those who live with their grandparents and those who are from child headed households. When selecting new children, priority is given to children most in need, for example children who have been double orphaned, young girls and children who are HIV positive. The children are selected by a panel of Project staff, collecting information from the village government.
Selection of orphans and vulnerable children to be supported: The focus of OMAWA is to support orphan and vulnerable children in rural communities who have no means of support. The process of identifying children to be supported is done in collaboration with local government which identifies OVCs in the community and OMAWA conducts a verification process. OMAWA staff visit the OVCs and collect information about the child and family background and living situation. The information collected is documented and it includes any possible disabilities, living conditions etc.
Selection Criteria
Most vulnerable HIV/AIDS orphaned children from old/weak grand parents and guardians.
Children from families whose surviving parents are weak and sickly of HIV/AIDS
Most vulnerable youths affected by HIV/AIDS and from very poor household
Vulnerable children from very poor household and child headed household.
The scholarship includes the following:
Feeding support:
OMAWA provide primary and secondary school students with food contribution to enable them to eat lunch during study hours.
School uniforms:
In Tanzania children may not attend school without a uniform. We provide each child with a full school uniform so they can access education with dignity.
The uniform package include (shirts, blouses, shorts, trousers a pair of shoes and pair of socks) to be used over the course of their studies.
Scholastic materials/ School supplies:
OMAWA provide school stationary to the Orphans and vulnerable children which are exercise books, pens, pencils, rulers, mathematical sets and school bags that simplifies their study
Achievements
Over the 6 years OMAWA has supported educational program that have benefited orphans and vulnerable children in Moshi rural district, around 640 primary school students and 200 secondary students. The program has supported a total of 840 orphans and vulnerable children to attend primary and secondary school by assisting them with school fees, scholastic materials, uniforms, lunch during school hours.
