Why support a private school?
Unlike in Germany, attending a private school is nothing special in Tanzania, because the conditions under which the children learn in state schools are anything but good. It is not uncommon for there to be more than a hundred students in one class. Only 50% of them pass the final exams. Even though a successful exam in the seventh grade is a prerequisite for admission to a secondary school. Therefore, many parents try to place their children in a private school, for example an English medium school. They use a major part of their income to do this, and it is not always enough. Our goal is to relieve the families there and give as many children as possible access to higher education.
What is an English Medium School?
English Medium Schools are a type of school used by many private primary schools in Tanzania. On the one hand, these schools are characterized by smaller classes with up to 40 students, on the other hand, lessons (except for Swahili lessons) are held in English from pre-school onwards. Many primary schools decide to do this, since English is also the language of lessons in all secondary schools. As so as the children enter secondary school, this gives them a great advantage over their classmates, whose English is usually not good enough to follow the lessons.
What does pre- and primary school mean?
In Tanzania it is common (due to cost reasons) to place the children in the pre-school instead of in a day-care. This usually begins at the age of three, but parents are also free to send their children there earlier. As a rule, basic reading and writing skills are required when entering elementary school. Children acquire this during their three years in pre-school.
What comes next?
After primary school, which ends in seventh grade in Tanzania, the children can attend secondary school if they are successful in the final exams. After four years there, some of the students go on to either a high school or a college before being allowed to attend university after another two years. Those students who don't make it through high school or college can either get an education if their parents' money allows it, or like most people here, they can become self-employed; that is, as farmers, businesspeople or in public transport.
What do I get from a sponsorship?
A sponsorship is a voluntary donation. It is intended to support children in Arusha and the surrounding area with an extensive school education to find a secure and fairly paid job (which is difficult due to the high population and the associated high level of competition in all sectors). Since we are a Tanzania-based organization that is not registered in Germany (because this would cause high costs), the donation is unfortunately not tax-deductible.
Nevertheless, you will receive a small thank you from us or your sponsored child in the form of regular e-mails once or twice a year. We want to bring you closer to the African culture and the daily life of the children. The letters are usually in English but will be translated by our volunteers if requested. We will also be happy to send your answer to the relevant student.
What will change as a result of my donation?
If you want to take on a sponsorship to pay the school fees, you enable a child to attend our school and thus access higher education. For boarding students in our boarding school, daily meals and accommodation are also guaranteed. In this way you have a decisive influence on the future of your sponsored child. You can find out about his/her progress, you will receive regular information from us, and you can also visit the student here in Tanzania, should you ever be in the area.
How do I know that my donation will go where I want it to?
We are a pre- and primary school registered in Tanzania. Our registration number is 135-690-074 (taxpayer identification number of Tanzania revenue authority). Our location is: Magadrisho Street USA-River. Our address for letters is: P.O.Box 197 USA-River. You are welcome to follow our activities on our social media channels. There is also the possibility to visit us as a sponsor or volunteer. You can also contact us at any time by e-mail or telephone (this is usually associated with costs as a call abroad).
How does a sponsorship work?
To become a sponsor, simply fill out the form that we have provided for you on the “Sponsorship” page. You can enter the name of the child, the name(s) of the children you would like to sponsor or simply the number of children and we will then find the right sponsored children for you. After that we will contact you to confirm. If you want to take a partly-sponsorship, we will contact you as soon as we found sponsors for the rest amount.
The school year in Tanzania always starts in January, so, if possible, transfer your donation before January 1st. The best way to do this is to set up a standing order. We will inform you about the receipt of your payment. The aim of a sponsorship is to accompany a child on its way for several years. However, you can end the sponsorship at any time by contacting us. If your sponsored child leaves our school (after the seventh grade), we will also notify you. Then you can end your sponsorship, or we will assign a new child that you can support. You have the right to end the sponsorship at any time. In this case we would like to ask you to notify us before you stop making payments.
Why are there different amounts needed for different students?
The parents of our students spent a high amount of their income paying for school-fees (including needs like food, transport, etc.). Unfortunately, sometimes even this is not enough. The goal of our sponsorship program is to fill the gap between the parent-paid-amount and our school-fees. In addition, some of our pupils have special needs (like health insurance) that we want to sponsor.
Who is my contact person?
Your first point of contact at our school is: +255754697887 (School Manager), +255766362210 (Junior Director), info@bethlehemstar.ac.tz. If you need a German-speaking contact person: julia@bethlehemstar.ac.tz