KARIMU INTERNATIONAL HELP FOUNDATION
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : s*******a@g***l.c*m
Mission Statement
Eliminate poverty in rural areas of the developing world, in a sustainable way.
About This Cause
Karimu recognizes that poverty can only be defeated by tackling the three greatest challenges facing the poor: 1. Poor health and sanitation 2. Meager income 3. Lack of access to financial services Note: Education is treated as a means to raise income and to address some health issues. Lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation affect the health of a community while generating other serious problems. Time spent fetching water from muddy rivers, work performed largely by children, is time lost for education. Poor education means fewer opportunities later to earn a decent income. Meager income forces a family into painful choices regarding which child’s basic school costs (e.g., uniforms) can be met. No access to financial services leaves the family without a safety net when an emergency strikes. If a family member gets sick or drought reduces its crop yield, the family may need to sell a portion of its meager assets, sinking them even deeper into poverty. The problems of the poor are therefore interconnected and must be addressed simultaneously. Karimu’s Mission is to find sustainable ways to fight poverty in order to enhance the well-being of rural villages in the developing world. We are committed to keeping an open mind to suggestions for the precise projects that will enhance well-being. But projects must address, at least in part, one of the above three challenges. Accomplishments 2023 Organization wide - Our Regional Director Shau has a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Education. As Regional Director he oversees all projects in Tanzania, interacts with local and governmental leadership, and directs our local staff. He has been recognized and honored multiple times within the ward for his leadership and contribution, but he is also now nationally known and is the face of Karimu in Tanzania. Baraka is our financial and internal operations manager in addition to being an entrepreneurship trainer and project lead for the poorest of the poor evaluation. Karimu recognition: Shau represented Karimu in the Global Partner Conference in Tanzania that was attended by all governors and ministers. Three Karimu projects were highlighted at the national level. Karimu was recognized as the best NGO in the Babati district. Victoria was the guest of honor at the graduation of Dohom Secondary School. Negotiations: Ensured the government agencies recognize and respect our memorandum of understanding keeping water in the public water points free of charge. Cost reduction of all our construction projects by 4% by transferring the tax on contractors to the engineering firms. Drove prices of construction further down by doubling the number of engineering firms bidding on our construction projects Operations: We have had significant improvement in accuracy and discipline in all our operations (budgeting, receipt tracking, cost review, inventory, ...). Most importantly, our office has become a role model for maintenance in the community. Poorest of the Poor: We completed a comprehensive assessment of the impact Karimu projects have had on the poorest of the poor in Ayalagaya determining that they are benefiting from our projects and on a trajectory to get out of poverty like the rest of Ayalagaya. Construction Program - Augustino, hired in 2022, has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He is project lead for all construction projects managing bidding, project hiring, quality oversight, schedule and design adherence, inspection, and liability period. There are generally 3 or 4 construction projects operating in parallel. We have seen that Augustino’s detailed oversight has significantly improved the quality of construction thus reducing defects found in the liability period. In addition, he has identified design improvements for several projects. Construction projects completed in 2023 are: Arri Water Project - 5 villages now have clean, free, running water within 500m of all households and the remaining 2 will have before Christmas (the project encompassed 11 tanks, over 120km (70 miles) of underground pipes, over 200 water points, etc.) Tsaayo Dispensary - Completed and in use including expanded staff and patient bathrooms provided in partnership with the government - over 6000 patient visits in 2023 Arri Primary Kitchen - Completed and in use by 800 students and 9 teachers. This is the 1st project to have zero defects during the liability period. Bacho Primary Kitchen - completed and in use by 273 students and 11 teachers Gajal Primary 3 new classrooms plus 1 office - completed an in use by 768 students, 12 teachers Haysam Primary 3 new classroom plus 1 office - completed and in use by 442 students, 15 teachers Installation of water system in Jangwani Primary School bathrooms for 619 students, 8 teachers Sanitation Program - Shau has been the acting sanitation program leader in 2023 through September. He has now transitioned this project to our newest staff member, Lucy, has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and is quickly getting up to speed on our processes. Ayalagaya Water Project Maintenance:Completed negotiation with the new government agencies for honoring the Ayalagaya water memorandum of understanding that ensures that public water points remain free of charge. Arri Water Project:Created and trained the Arri Water Committee in coordination with the governing water agency, opened the water points in Arri ward giving all residents clean, free water within 500m of their homes and all schools and dispensaries now have on-site running water. Health Program: Swaiba leads our health program. She is a doctor with a Diploma in Clinical Medicine. She is one of the few employees who joined Karimu from outside the region, but she has quickly gained credibility with both the medical staff and district medical leadership coordinating campaigns across our local dispensaries and government initiatives. Additionally, she is honing her skills in data analysis from the volumes of data we receive monthly from the clinics having identified potential risk areas and addressing them with the clinics. Dareda Kati Health Center - opening of the center that is now operating 24x7 and serving 40,000 people - over 24,000 patient visits in 2023 TB campaign – Having driven up the cases of TB detected and treated since Oct 2021 with our joint campaigns with the government, we are now seeing the number of new cases declining quarterly. HPV Vaccinations – HPV vaccination rates for 14 year old girls were originally very poor. In 2023, 100% of eligible girls received their 1st dose and 2nd doses without Karimu needing to intervene. Scholarships for Medical Staff – 2 scholarships were given and 1 has already received her diploma as a laboratorist. Childhood Vaccination in Arri – ~ 90% of children are receiving the WHO recommended vaccines significantly outpacing world-wide WHO statistics for rural areas in developing countries as well as many developed countries. Malnutrition Assessment – We completed our malnutrition assessment in Arri conducting a sampling survey of the poorest households across all 7 villages concluding that malnutrition is not a significant problem, consistent with our findings in Ayalagaya. Training on Infant and Newborn Care for Young Mothers - Over 9000 pregnant and young women trained Financial Services Program: Victoria leads our financial services program. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Human Resource Management. In addition to the amazing program accomplishments below, Victoria is a recognized expert now in savings group training and operations and a valued consultant regionally. She was invited to a regional meeting where she was a featured speaker about the success of our financial services program. She has also trained and supervises 3 new contracted field officers who support our savings group training program. Ayalagaya Savings Group Training: Four savings groups graduated in Ayalagaya this year with five more in training. The nine groups who graduated prior to 2023 have maintained a high level of effectiveness at 89.3%, Average annual savings increasing 1.65 times since program inception. You can read more about the success of a specific example savings group here. Arri Savings Group Training - The first savings group graduated in Arri this year with 6 more in training. Financial Assistance - There has never been a missed or late payment in the $50,050 in zero-interest loans we have provided to our graduated savings groups! They are demonstrating good judgment in when to take loans and when to wait. Ayalagaya Federation - The federation is operating well scoring 97% on their assessment. The federation is providing loans to member groups and will have their first profit sharing this December. Education Program - John has his Bachelor Degree in Arts and Education and leads all education projects across all 15 schools in Arri and Ayalagaya. In addition to taking over as lead trainer for the computer classes for the teachers and medical staff, he has, on his own initiative, single-handedly moved all schools to online data recording and reporting for enrollment, attendance, and maintenance and automated quarterly data rollup improving efficiency and accuracy. His ongoing attention has contributed substantially to improved student and teacher attendance, school performance, and ongoing maintenance of new classrooms and bathrooms. Computer Class – John trained Endasago Primary teachers who had the highest attendance rate ever (97%) and delivered photocopy machine to the school in recognition of their completion Scholarship for Teachers - Four teachers graduated this year and 4 are continuing their studies. Hygiene education in Ayalagaya and Arri schools - 9,043 students and 212 teachers of 15 schools received the yearly training Donation of 1st aid kits to all 15 schools of Arri and Ayalagaya Importance of Education - Having seen lower attendance rates in primary schools in Arri ward, particularly for boys, Karimu initiated this program. The team completed both rounds of visiting all Arri schools and educating 4811 kids.