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ROANOKE NONPROFIT RECEIVES GRANT FOR INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND Godparents for Tanzania awarded $10,000 from the Environmental Resources Management Foundation
Godparents for Tanzania, a Roanoke-based nonprofit supporting students in Tanzania, East Africa, has received a $10,000 grant to begin a scholarship fund for young Tanzanians pursuing a career in wildlife management. The Mazingira (Environmental) Partnership and Scholarship Fund will send deserving students to the College of African Wildlife Management, internationally recognized for excellence in wildlife management training, in Mweka, Tanzania. Students will receive tuition support and a stipend for living expenses in exchange for their commitment to live and work in the area of wildlife management in Tanzania for at least five years.
Click here to learn about our effort to raise $3,000 in matching funds at GiveMeaning.
The Mazingira Fund is a new and exciting opportunity for Godparents for Tanzania (G4TZ). Established in 2004 by Lutheran pastor Dwayne Westermann of Roanoke, G4TZ matches up North American donors with Tanzanian students to provide scholarships and support. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world – more than half of its people live on less than a dollar a day, and school fees are prohibitive for most families. UNICEF estimates that only 10% of Tanzanian youth attend secondary school, and far fewer have the opportunity to attend a university or vocational program. Individual donors and congregations currently support 124 students of all ages, with many more on the waiting list. The Mazingira Fund will provide students career training in the growing field of wildlife management, nearly guaranteeing a paying job after graduation.
Tourism is Tanzania’s third largest source of revenue, so caring for the nation’s wildlife refuges and national parks is a promising career opportunity for young people. G4TZ founder and president Dwayne Westermann says, “We really believe that programs like the Mazingira Fund can break the cycle of poverty and unemployment for as many students as we are able to reach, while improving the environment and the economy of the country at the same time. There’s no shortage of ability or motivation among our students – the only thing holding them back is a lack of opportunity. If we can just give them a chance, they are going to succeed and make their country a better place.”
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