Elimu Community
Light - TZ
Nyah Hill
An Honors Political Science student studying abroad Spring 2025 in Tanzania.
On January 31st, I left for Tanzania alongside seven students and two professors, Dr. Hershey and Dr. Epps. We landed on the island of Zanzibar, where we stayed for a month with host families and participated in an intensive Swahili program at the State University of Zanzibar. Since we flew to Arusha on March 3rd, I’ve taken a culture, psychology, and political science class from our Whitworth professors. Once our classes were finished, we dove right into our internships.
I’m working at a non-governmental organization (NGO) called Elimu Community Light. Elimu means education in Swahili. I spend the first half of my day as an unofficial teacher for the upper level, which are 5-year-olds. Elimu Community Light serves students ages 3–6. The kids call me Madam Nyah. Although, because none of the kids speak English, it comes out more like a ‘Maaa DamNy Uh’. Spending time in the classroom teaches me so much about how I sound to native Swahili speakers when I try to repeat phrases they tell me. Being a foreigner in a sea of children who do not speak my language is helping me develop empathy—where I previously only had sympathy—for immigrants and refugees in nations where they do not speak the official language.
A Light Purse
Education is expensive in Tanzania. The cost of attendance is 25,000 TSH (Tanzanian Shillings) per month, a little less than $10 USD. This is extremely expensive for the area the school is serving, which is why they are accommodating when families can’t afford the encouraged uniforms. Sadly, the government and private schools are not as lenient, so students can’t attend school if they can’t afford a uniform. The primary and secondary schools in the area don’t provide food for students, so many of them go home at lunch time. They might eat, they might not. The kids at Elimu eat porridge every day for lunch. I’ve learned how to make it, but it’s just heated water, flour, and sugar. All the kids are well nourished and get meals at home, so this isn’t the only food they are getting throughout the day. But it is still a sobering experience.
With only two teachers, the school is resourceful in combining subjects. They combine music with P.E. and ‘letter printing’ with math (i.e. when teaching addition and subtraction they first teach with letters. ooo + ooo = oooooo). My time here has shown me what schools in developing nations need to be successful and serve their regions well. Additionally, I am beginning to understand how international investment in Tanzanian education can be a double-edged sword. The funding is useful, though grants and donations often come with criteria and directions on how the money is to be used. Foreign donors almost never have a complete understanding of what these schools really need, so the money goes to programs and initiatives that are not compatible with the education institutions that are already in place.
Fundraising in a Developing Nation
I spend the second half of my day in the head office. One of their goals is to increase their fundraising through social media. I’m trying to get them set up with newsletters, a platform for fundraising, and teaching them what, when, and how to post on social media platforms. It is much more complicated than I thought, especially when I factor in Tanzanian fundraising laws, and the fact that we need permission slips from the kids and their families if we want to post them. I’m coming to understand the barriers that prevent NGOs like Elimu from partaking in fundraising efforts. For example, 99% of the online fundraising platforms that I have attempted to use are only able to send funds to certain countries. Most of the time those countries are developed nations in North America and Europe. That means that organizations such as Elimu need to find a partner who is willing to host the fundraiser on their behalf, then send the funds to them. It’s not impossible, but it is much more complex.
Tanzanian Politics
Education is a very political topic in Tanzania. Organizations must be extremely careful as to what they say online so that it is not in opposition to the controlling political party’s position. Tanzania has been controlled by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) since 1977, despite the country officially being a multi-party state. One Party Rule is a type of regime where a single party monopolizes politics and bans/excludes other parties from power or attempting to gain power. Since being here, I’ve heard from locals about the consequences of standing strong in opposition to the CCM. Within the last year, a few opposition party leaders were found dead after mysteriously disappearing as an important political event was approaching. That is one of the many reasons that my boss and founder of the NGO doesn’t like to be on social media. The consequences can be severe if done wrong.
The barriers and political sensitivity surrounding education make for a semi stressful job, but I have learned so much already and will continue to do so.
