subject: Life Education Foundation [print this page] In the modern world, there is a lot of uneven development. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. And even though the weatlthier nations of the world like to think they are lending a helping hand to developing countries, the truth is far more needs to be done.
It is easy to see why people take things into their own hands, and give up their time and money to help worthwhile causes. Gap year volunteers regularly venture to the far flung ends of the earth to teach english, help build communities or even give medical support. Even though the scale is small, the results are big in the communities being helped.
The Life Education Foundation is a registered NGO and aims to give accommodation, education and support to HIV positive orphans in Tanzania. It was founded in 2008 after a family visited the country and saw the poor situation for themselves, and decided to act.
With an initial donation, farmland was purchased and some buildings were erected, including a kitchen, toilet and sleeping quarters. The sustainable nature of the project has meant food is produced by animals and crops. A bore hole was drilled for clean water. Since then LEF Tanzania has grown and was recently able to accept its first intake of orphans. A classroom is currently under development.
The project recieves funding from a variety of sources, from genorous gifts from individuals to big donations from an International School.
Run by a Tanzanian man on the ground, and supported by the family from England, the Life Education Foundation has been able to sponsor local individuals and family members through education, in order to become teachers. The first teacher will be arriving at the LEF in a few months.
With continued funding and development, the LEF can become a hugely successful charity, and benefit HIV positive children immensely. For us in the western world, having a place to sleep or a school to attend is taken for granted, but at this project in Tanzania it can be life saving.
The Life Education Foundation is proud of its origins and looks forward to helping even more in the future.
