Although the Tanzanian government has a policy of free education, the reality is that many children cannot afford to pay for the “extras” – the obligatory uniform, books, stationery, fees for water and security guards and monthly haircuts. Therefore, many are still not receiving a formal education, especially in the area served by the Inner City Program.
As the school year begins in Tanzania in January, Hope for the Future began offering the opportunity to purchase School Sponsorships as gifts to honour friends and family members at Christmas time. These sponsorships cover the “extras” so that all of the Inner City Program Children are now able to attend school. As well, many more are now able to continue on to secondary school, when the fees increase significantly, due to the generous support of donors.
The elementary curriculum is taught in Swahili with English as one of the subject classes. Secondary education is taught solely in English. Most children do not finish primary school with enough English to be able to cope with secondary school. For this reason, Hope for the Future has been working on providing English language classes to the Inner City Program children so that many more of them can achieve success in secondary school.
This year (2021), Hope for the Future Tanzania has sponsored 228 children for an elementary school education and 42 children for a secondary education. The present costs are $60 a year for the elementary school fees and $200 for secondary school.