Mission

Each child is an individual who has diverse aptitudes and different learning styles. Building on this fundamental concept, The Toa Nafasi Project addresses the needs of primary schoolchildren in Tanzania to assess their abilities, cultivate strengths, and resolve weaknesses. We work with teachers, parents, and the community at large to enrich the classroom experience and devise innovative and inspiring teaching methodologies that encourage participation and critical thinking. The goal of The Toa Nafasi Project is to elicit creativity and distinction in academic performance, extracurricular activities, and to provide each child with a chance to excel.

What We Do

The Toa Nafasi Project is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that was conceived in 2009 and incorporated in 2012 in response to the "one size fits all" approach to education in Tanzania, East Africa.

Toa nafasi or "provide a chance" is a nod to the fact that without some kind of reform in the education sector acknowledging students' individuality, many Tanzanian schoolchildren will not achieve their full potential. To improve the current system and national curricula, our Project works with local government authorities, taking up the following issues in Tanzanian public primary schools, thereby providing every child with a chance to thrive:introducing new and innovative teaching methodologies
developing better teacher training
enriching Early Childhood Development and Early Childhood Education initiatives
supporting students with learning difficulties, slow learners, and other vulnerable children
inculcating a "culture of reading" starting at an early age
recognizing non-scholastic skills such as art, music, and sport
making medical and psychosocial services available to those who are underperforming in class
encouraging the entire community to become involved in students' lives
The Toa Nafasi Project was founded by Sarah Rosenbloom, a longtime volunteer teacher and development worker in Kilimanjaro, who is conversant in both the language and culture of Tanzania, and has extensive contacts throughout the country. Sarah is joined by a fifteen-member staff, two advisory/directorial boards, and the Project works in coordination with: The International Association of Special Education, The Diaspora Council of Tanzanians in America, Dr. Angela Stone-MacDonald and The Early Childhood Licensure Program of UMass Boston, The Gabriella Children's Rehabilitation Centre, Building Caring Communities, and the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre among others.