LIFE Tanzania

15/05/2025

Baustellen-Update: Die Türen und Fenster sind drin 🏗🏠.

💛

21/01/2025

Our Community Center finally has a roof!!! We are so incredibly grateful to our dear friend Kristin and her colleagues as well as our partner from day 1 Kupanda e.V. who both worked so hard to raise the funds for this long awaited milestone 🏠☀️! With material costs skyrocketing and an exchange rate that wasn’t in our favor it took us a lot longer than expected, but we are finally here. We believe that everything happens at the right time and we feel more ready than ever to bring our community center to life ❤️.

We are still remaining with some funds to continue construction, so we will keep you updated on how far we will reach. If you are interested in supporting our ongoing construction please get in touch with Kupanda e.V. or directly with us!

Thank you so much / Asante sana to everyone who has helped us reach this far! 🫶🏽

22/08/2024

The first daycare under the umbrella of our newly founded NGO has officially opened its doors! We couldn’t be more grateful and excited 🥰❤️

27/06/2024

(for English version see below)

Seit vielen Jahren schon bestand der Traum des STEP Africa Teams auch eigene gemeinnützige Projekte auf die Beine zu stellen, um die gemachte Erfahrung in unseren zahlreichen Partnerprojekten effizient zu nutzen und weitere Zielgruppen unterstützen zu können. Als 2020 die Corona-Pandemie ausbrach und für zahlreiche Monate keine Volontäre nach Arusha kommen konnten, wurde uns klar, dass wir nicht einfach untätig herumsitzen können, sondern, dass es Zeit ist, Träume in die Tat umzusetzen und einen noch aktiveren Beitrag in der Unterstützung unserer Gemeinschaft in Arusha zu leisten.

2021 entstand die Partnerschaft mit dem deutschen Verein Kupanda e.V. und mit der großartigen Unterstützung der Vorsitzenden, Sophia und Anna Schmid, sowie der zahlreichen Spender konnte ein Grundstück für unser geplantes L.I.F.E. Community Center in einem bedürftigen Stadtteil in Arusha erworben werden. Der Baustart zog sich vor allem aufgrund der zahlreichen bürokratischen Hürden hin, doch seit Ende 2022 arbeiten wir nun schrittweise daran, unserem Traum vom eigenen Community Center in die Tat umzusetzen. Aktuell herrscht Stillstand am Bau, da wir noch weitere Spenden für das lange ersehnte Dach auf unserem Gebäude benötigen. Dies ist der letzte große und vor allem teure Schritt (wir benötigen noch etwa 3500€), bevor wir in kleineren Etappen Strom und Wasser verlegen sowie die Räume eins nach dem anderen ausbauen und fertigstellen können.

Aktuell läuft das L.I.F.E. Projekt unter dem Schirm der Gily’s Children Foundation und in Partnerschaft mit STEP Africa. Im Mai 2024 entschieden wir uns nun dazu, auch die Gründung einer eigenen gemeinnützigen NGO in die Wege zu leiten. Ein weiterer Traum, der bald Wirklichkeit werden wird! Geleitet wird die NGO von Upendo Lema und Juma Amuko Ebwa in enger Partnerschaft mit Kira Uher von STEP Africa leiten.

Neben dem L.I.F.E. Community Center befindet sich nun ein weiteres Projekt im Aufbau. Die “Tiny Steps Daycare” für Babies und Kinder unter 3 Jahren im Ortsteil Lemara, Arusha. Mit der Daycare möchten wir der hohen Nachfrage an kostenfreier Kinderbetreuung für von Armut und Krankheit betroffene Familien nachkommen. Im Vergleich zum Community Center haben wir uns bei der Daycare für ein angemietetes Gebäude entschieden, sodass wir zeitnah mit der Kinderbetreuung und Schaffung neuer Arbeitsplätze in unserer Community beginnen können. Unser europäischer Partnerverein für die Tiny Steps Daycare ist der österreichische Verein “Mabawa Tanzania”, gegründet von den STEP Africa Alumni Magdalena Krainz und Jessica Unterreiner, welcher auch ein sehr erfolgreiches und nachhaltiges Schulpatenschaftsprogramm in Arusha leitet. In unserer Daycare laufen aktuell die Renovierungen auf Hochtouren, wobei wir noch etwa 2000€ benötigen, um alle Arbeiten fertig zu stellen, Spielgeräte aufzubauen und dadurch dann die Genehmigung des Jugendamts zum Führen der Einrichtung erhalten. Die laufenden Kosten einschließlich Miete und Gehälter werden so lange von STEP Africa getragen, bis diese durch ein nachhaltiges Patenschaftsprogramm gedeckt werden können (und wir damit die Chance haben und weiteren Projekten zu widmen!).

Wir sind unendlich dankbar für das große Netzwerk an ehemaligen Freiwilligen, Helfern und Unterstützern für alles, was bisher erreicht werden konnte. Wer an unserer Arbeit interessiert ist und diese mit einer Spende unterstützen möchte, kann dies über die folgenden Links tun. Wir sind für jede noch so kleine Unterstützung so unendlich dankbar!

L.I.F.E. Community Center:

https://www.betterplace.org/de/projects/92268-l-i-f-e-gemeindezentrum

Tiny Steps Daycare:

http://betterplace.me/tiny-steps-daycare-in-arusha

Wer in Erwägung zieht uns in Zukunft auch vor Ort zu unterstützen findet weitere Informationen unter www.step-africa.com

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For many years, the STEP Africa team had been dreaming of setting up its own charitable projects in order to utilise the experience gained in our numerous partner projects efficiently and support other target groups. When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in 2020 and no volunteers were able to come to Arusha for several months, we realised that we couldn't just sit idly by, but that it was time to turn dreams into reality and make an even more active contribution to supporting our community in Arusha.

In 2021, the partnership with the German association Kupanda e.V. was established and with the great support of the chairpersons, Sophia and Anna Schmid, as well as the numerous donors, a plot of land was acquired for our planned L.I.F.E. Community Centre in a needy district in Arusha. The start of construction dragged on, mainly due to the numerous bureaucratic hurdles, but since the end of 2022 we have been working step by step to turn our dream of our own community centre into reality. Construction is currently at a standstill, as we still need further donations for the long-awaited roof on our building. This is the last big and above all expensive step (we still need around €3500) before we can install electricity and water in smaller stages and extend and finish the rooms one by one.

The L.I.F.E. project currently runs under the umbrella of the Gily's Children Foundation and in partnership with STEP Africa. In May 2024, we decided to initiate the foundation of our own non-profit NGO. Another dream that will soon become a reality! The NGO will be managed by Upendo Lema and Juma Amuko Ebwa in close partnership with Kira Uher from STEP Africa.

In addition to the L.I.F.E. Community Centre, another project is now under development. The "Tiny Steps Daycare" for babies and children under the age of 3 in the Lemara neighbourhood of Arusha. With the daycare centre, we want to meet the high demand for free childcare for families affected by poverty and illness. Compared to the Community Centre, we have opted for a rented building for the Daycare so that we can start providing childcare and creating new jobs in our community as soon as possible. Our European partner organisation for Tiny Steps Daycare is the Austrian charity "Mabawa Tanzania", founded by STEP Africa alumni Magdalena Krainz and Jessica Unterreiner, which also runs a very successful and sustainable school sponsorship programme in Arusha. Renovations are currently in full swing at our daycare centre, and we still need around €2,000 to complete all the work, install play equipment and then receive approval from the Youth Welfare Office to run the facility. The running costs, including rent and salaries, will be covered by STEP Africa until they can be covered by a sustainable sponsorship programme (and we have the chance to dedicate ourselves to further projects!).

We are infinitely grateful for the large network of former volunteers, helpers and supporters for everything that has been achieved so far. If you are interested in our work and would like to support it with a donation, you can do so via the following links. We are so very grateful for any support, no matter how small!

L.I.F.E. Community Centre:

https://www.betterplace.org/de/projects/92268-l-i-f-e-gemeindezentrum

Tiny Steps Daycare:

http://betterplace.me/tiny-steps-daycare-in-arusha

If you are considering supporting us locally in the future, you can find more information at www.step-africa.com

12/03/2024

We are super excited about the progress we are making. Due to increased prices in building materials and lots of additional water we had to buy for the construction process we couldn’t progress as fast and far as we wished to. But we are now finalizing the last steps of pulling up the walls, which have been stabilized with steel and extra layers of cement and will then continue to raise the remaining funds we need to build the roof (approx 3700€). Once the roof is up we can then go slowly, room by room and even have plans to start with our first community services while at the same time finishing with the construction. Thank you so much for every single donor and supporter who brought us this far. We truly are eternally grateful and can’t wait for all the good things that will follow 🧡🏡

12/03/2024

https://www.facebook.com/stories/102480095256065/UzpfSVNDOjM4MzMzMjY1MTMwNzQyNA==/?view_single=1&source=shared_permalink&mibextid=W9rl1R

27/10/2023

Step by step we are working towards our goal of an inclusive community center in Arusha, Tanzania 🥰💛 Look at the amazing progress our L.I.F.E. Center made in the past few weeks!And the best news is that more money is on the way thanks to .loevenich , her grandfather and amazing family and friends who set up a birthday fundraiser as well as further generous donors who recently donated towards our cause. We are truly grateful 🙏🏼🤗 .v

12/03/2023

Construction of the main building has finally started after we managed to finish the wall and fitting an entrance gate. We are beyond excited for seeing our center grow and our dreams becoming reality 🥰

29/11/2022

25/11/2022

Translated post from our german partner Kupanda e.V.🧡💛:

„Start of construction in Tanzania🥳👷🏾♂️!
Finally we could start the construction of our L.I.F.E community center in Arusha, Tanzania. Unfortunately, the issuance of the building permit was delayed for months. In addition, it turned out to be even more difficult to get a permit for a two-story building. Therefore, we decided to adjust our construction plan in order to finally start building (picture 1).
First of all, a wall was built around the entire property in order to secure the site, but above all to ensure the safety of the children later on (picture 2). Now the foundation and further construction of the house itself will follow.
Therefore, as part of our Advent campaign this year, we are collecting donations for the wall, which has torn a small hole in our budget, as well as the further expansion of the community center, so that soon many children will romp through our community center.
💛

17/11/2022

As of now the fence stands. 🥳 This is a huge step as we proceed with the foundation of the building. We still have to raise more money to continue the construction of our inclusive community center and every little amount goes a long way in Tanzania.

If you consider a donation or need further information on how to support us please also follow our German Partner Association Kupanda e.V. (Kupanda e.V.). All donations are tax deductible within the EU!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts 🧡💛🌻.