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Central to our logo is the Acacia tree, one of the most hearty of trees in Africa. In the midst of drought, the Acacia survives when other plants die. In the midst of hardship and struggle, we are determined to help our students survive.
In Swahili we say,
"Mti mgunga una mizizi inayokwenda chini ardhini sana nayo huishi wakati vingine vyote hushindwa, mgunga huleta matumaini kwa vitu vyote vilivyo hai nyakati zilizo ngumu. Vivyo hivyo ndivyo uhusiano wetu katika Kristo."
In English, it means,
"The Acacia tree has deep roots and survives when all else fails, providing both food and shelter for living things in hard times. Just so is our partnership in Christ."
In the branches of the Acacia tree are books which symbolize our conviction that the best way to help people lift themselves from poverty is through education. The goal of Godparents for Tanzania is to provide scholarships for young Tanzanians to attend secondary and university level education so they may be a part of the solution to poverty in their country and not simply recipients of first world charity. While food and financial resources must continue to help our friends there, the final solution will depend upon them and their skills, gained through education, to end their own poverty. We believe that educated Tanzanians are the best equipped to understand the causes of poverty and end it in their own country.
Below the tree stands a godparent and a student. Our goal is not only to provide education but to develop personal relationships between young people in this developing country and those of us who have been blessed with many resources. Godparents are people who commit to taking responsibility for a child. We work to help our godparents (sponsors) learn to know their students and develop a relationship that will grow through a lifetime.
The godparent who stands with the child under the Acacia tree is hopefully not doing so from a great distance. We sponsor annual trips to Tanzania in order to introduce our sponsors to their students. If you are a sponsor who has not yet met your student face to face, we hope you will have the opportunity to do so when you come with us to Tanzania on one of our annual Safaris (see the Discovery Safaris menu on this web site for more details).
We invite you to be a Godparent for Tanzania.
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