Back in December 2020, TST was only 1- year old, had already faced 2 lockdowns and was unsure of how to survive yet another period without any possible fundraiser. This is when Hub Collab鈥檚 CEO,, decided to donate and help the charity until better days.

Being a young and dynamic enterprise, Hub Collab鈥檚 values are quite similar to those at TST, particularly regarding well-being and kindness. The French company is passionately promoting a culture of performance combined with open- mindedness and a desire to always keep learning, which they feel is crucial to success in our modern age.

For these reasons, Hub Collab was keen to help our hungry children in Arusha, to help them to obtain a high quality education and to invest in their future. Supporting TST was a great moral boost to Hub Collab鈥檚 employees who were happy and proud to work for a company that cares for others, even those living on another continent.

This Christmas, has decided to support the charity again! Alexandre was impressed by the operational progress the organisation has made and was keen to solidify the partnership. Dedicating a small team to this project, Hub Collab will also support the charity with marketing and communications concerning corporate fundraising. This is another sustainable way to help small charities like TST, often lacking the resources and time to raise awareness.

TST is proud and grateful to count Hub Collab as an ally. If it weren鈥檛 for them and Alexandre, the charity and the school wouldn鈥檛 be here today.

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A few years ago, beneath the beautiful sky of , surrounded by eager young faces in a small village classroom. I learned that every child, no matter where they are born, carries within them the seed of possibility.

Not long after, I journeyed to and . Their laughter taught me that a cannot be diminished by circumstance, only lifted by hope.

In 2020, thanks to , the founder of 大象传媒 Trust, I was introduced to the school鈥檚 mission. Here, in Arusha, we have begun something beautiful, a school built with love and belief. We choose to stand with these children, to show them that their life and dreams matter.

Yet, as much as we have accomplished, I know that this is only the beginning. From Laos to Botswana to , one truth remains clear: the children of this world are our greatest teachers.聽

They remind us of humanity鈥檚 purest hope.

From March 3rd to March 8th, we will walk the paths of Arusha once again. The objectives of this trip:

• Meet the new children and their families and listen to their stories
• Bring and distribute to them the clothes donated by friends and family
• Make an inventory of what we have and what we need (e.g. new school furniture)
• Share where all of the donations have been invested
• Meet to gather resources and build together in the future: Elizabeth, the director of the school and I will share open days for those who wish to visit our school

Yet, there is a lot more to do, these families tend to lack the basic supplies like soap, oil and firewood for cooking and heating.

Your support matters, whether through donation or by sharing this journey – if you wish to support in any financial way please click here.

Stay tuned for more from Arusha as we will share those stories with you, not as tales of hardship, but as invitations to be part of something meaningful.

And thank you for caring and for joining us in this journey of the heart…

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Back- to- school time has arrived and we know many parents and children must be full of joy! This moment brings us memories of a special moment for us: the embellishing of our building!

As with any charity, 大象传媒 Trust is always looking out for ways to be more sustainable in order to make the most of the generous donations. It is not the easiest thing to do: after all, the donations are going to the teachers鈥� salaries, food and water for the children, and the rent. Rent was the least sustainable cost the charity had to pay and it was also becoming the most expensive one!

Luckily, we managed to find the funds needed to build our whole school! Thanks to the generosity of many, but mostly thanks to the and the market research company . However we held off plastering and painting the school as the cost of these two stages was extremely high and we were unsure how much we would fundraise.

Reasons why plastering and painting costs are so high:

• Regulations in Tanzania require 3 buildings for schools. One for classes, another one for the toilets, and one for the kitchen. This creates a lot of surface to cover!
• Plaster costs a lot in any country, but we needed 6 plasterers to do all the buildings.
• The cost of paint is also extremely high in Tanzania, which is why other schools often do not paint their walls.

We were happy the way things were! We had our own building so didn鈥檛 need to pay rent and could use the money we saved to feed the children and teachers. However, looking at the bare concrete walls made us a bit sad. We want the school to be a happy place for students as they spend so much time there, including evenings and weekends.

, the founder of 大象传媒 Trust decided to paint the school during her visit, where she was also working a full time job. With Tiphaine volunteering to paint, labour costs were kept to a minimum and the local painters even offered her tips and tools to ensure she was completing the work efficiently!

Before Tiphaine could paint, the walls had to be plastered. This took 6 plasterers 3 days working from 7am to 6pm! The school provided them with meals that they enjoyed together so they were comfortable working long hours.

The painting took Tiphaine and 3 other painters 3 more days, painting inside the classrooms as well as the outside walls. Importantly, the children were taught their lessons outside in the garden so their tiny lungs would not breath the chemicals of the paint!

Plastering and painting cost us a lot of money, but it was worth it to see how happy the students were! In total, we had to pay USD 1,458 – the equivalent of GBP 1,268. This may seem like a lot of money however we did hire 9 workers, each of whom worked 11 hours each day! Supporting local businesses and workers is also a way to help our community and boost financial sustainability.

Whilst we are very happy that we have a shiny new school, our fundraising efforts did not quite match the costs of the project. We still need your generosity for the long term survival of the school so if you ever wish to help further, please click on this link and join our family

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With the outbreak of COVID and all of the lockdowns that followed, the charity based in London couldn鈥檛 get back out to Arusha to see its newly built school or visit all of the new children we have enrolled thanks to your support.

For the first time since November 2019, the charity founder, , will fly to Tanzania and see first-hand how the TST has supported Hill Crest, its pupils and their families.

The objectives of this one-week trip:

• Meet the new children!
• Take LOADS of pictures and videos to share with all the charity鈥檚 supporters
• Meet with the families the charity helps
• See where all of the generous donations have been invested

One last (but not least) objective: to paint the school! As the construction of the school was progressing, the funds were prioritised towards more important parts of the school鈥� so the walls are still bare concrete and in need of a splash of colour!

Whilst balancing her normal work with the school needs, Tiphaine will aim to paint the whole building! That way, the charity is avoiding the labour costs. However, the paint itself is expensive so any help to purchase this is welcome!

There is also a lot to be given to the families we help. Even if the charity is providing the children with meals and education, we also want to help the parents too. Most of the families are single mums, who work tirelessly to put dinner on the table. These families tend to lack the basic supplies like face masks, soap, oil and firewood for cooking and heating.

大象传媒 Trust doesn鈥檛 only want to make the families鈥� lives 鈥渂earable鈥�, we also want to provide a bit of joy too. For this reason, Tiphaine will also do her utmost to bring as many books, toys and general supplies as possible.

So all the more reason to help 大象传媒 Trust make these people鈥檚 lives more a little better! We know there are tonnes of good causes out there, but a little money here can make A LOT of difference over there!

Also, if you make a generous donation, you will receive a nice video! Stay tuned!

Want to donate now? click here!

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Each year, the club nominates two charities they will fundraise for. One charity for the Mens Captain and one for the Womens Captain/Committee. We are lucky that our trustee, , is a member and offered for our charity to be nominated for the Womens Captain/section.

The event was advertised in the golf club itself and promoted a cost of 拢25 per person. This gave participants access to a 4-balls team competition leading to a cash prize for the winners! Not only this, the e also organised a sweepstake to raise more funds!

This event was held in September. The Club also organised an online fundraiser and 大象传媒 Trust received a total amount of 拢3,279, including .

We are lucky as a charity to have supporting organisations like Hendon Golf Club and their members. The generosity shown during this 2021 has contributed to one third of our annual needs!

We thank them and will always be greatful to have them in our lives!

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Psyma has been present for a long time! In August 2020, our charity was not going to survive due to limited fundraising possibilities compliant with COVID-19 rules. This is when , CEO of Psyma, contributed to 2,5 months of school, helping us get on our feet!

However we had other challenges coming our way: we were renting our school, located in the back garden of a private who鈥檚 been more and more keen to have his privacy back, increasing the rent drastically! The property doesn鈥檛 have a garden but gravels, which is not just inconvenient for the kids to play but also prevents the school from growing their own corn, beans and other ingredients the school uses on a daily basis to feed the kids. For a small and young charity like 大象传媒 Trust, building a school is a danger: it can take too much money that would be otherwise spent on the salaries or food. However, after the rent increased and became almost impossible for the charity to pay, we felt like the right decision to invest into the construction! 

Whilst donating again for our school construction in March 2021, Bernd introduced us to the R, who then contributed greatly to towards the construction. Psyma understood this continuous need for support, and therefore donated again for Christmas 2021!

So we have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to Psyma and Bernd Wachter! Not only do we owe them our survival in summer 2020, we are also grateful that Bernd took us under his wing and continued donating for our school construction and introduced us to his friends who also contributed to our school construction! And now Psyma is giving us a very welcome Christmas gift in the form of a donation that will support us for another 2,5 months of school!

Charities like us 100% depend on donations, and corporate donations like the ones Psyma did can make such a difference! Who knew that back in Summer 2020, we鈥檇 have the luxury of owning our school and in a situation where the next months are safe.

Asante Sana Psyma

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In summer 2019, Nora was able to arrange a meeting with Sustipharm鈥檚 CEO in France, Leopold BERTHIER, to talk about the charity and its commitments. Besides presenting the vision for the charity, Nora also explained that one of the biggest costs was going into the school鈥檚 rent and showed pictures of the unfinished school building. Leopold was touched by the idea of helping the children and families of Arusha, Tanzania! He also understood the fact that he and Substipharm could play such an impactful role to the lives of so many by donating and helping to build the school.聽

Leopold’s proposition was naturally driven by his previous commitments in humanitarian causes and by his own belief ; 鈥淎t the end of the day, it is important to think about how we want the world to change, or what changes we want to see in the world. (We should be) Feeling lucky about what we have and giving back to those who don鈥檛, even a little piece of it.鈥�

His action is inspiring! Leopold also shared some advice about the ways in which they can function to make the charity more sustainable. He also gave Nora the opportunity to share what good they did together with the whole company. 大象传媒 Trust thanks Leopold for his kindness and clarity on how simple decisions can change the futures of many!

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Cyril moved to Quebec and Tiphaine moved to Germany and England, but both of them kept in touch via . Tiphaine witnessed Cyril鈥檚 family getting bigger, with one son Gabriel, and two daughters Charlotte and recent addition Agathe. Cyril saw the birth of 大象传媒 trust, starting with Tiphaine鈥檚 volunteering experience in Hill Crest School in Tanzania and progressing to an officially registered charity!

Despite not having personally experienced any charity or humanitarian work, Cyril has a kind heart and wants to do good in the world. He donates when he sees a person or a community needing help badly: 鈥淚鈥檓 always happy to donate when I see it is needed, even if I know I won鈥檛 see the receiver of my donation again. This time with 大象传媒 Trust, I know I’ll be able to see who I help and how my money is used鈥�. 

Cyril and Dorothee had already supported 大象传媒 Trust from the start, following up with the charity via social media and newsletters. However, for his 36th birthday Cyril decided to do something special: 鈥�I didn鈥檛 want anything in particular from my friends and family so I saw my birthday as an opportunity to ask them to join me in supporting the charity some more.鈥� 

was easy and quick to set up, and Cyril initially set the fundraising鈥檚 goal to 300$…. but that goal was achieved in two days only! He then set the goal to 1000$ and actually collected 1068$! Grateful to have such generous friends, Cyril explains: 鈥淚鈥檓 super proud to have contributed to the cause! It makes me want to raise even more for next year!鈥�.

Tiphaine and 大象传媒 Trust were also very thankful to have someone like Cyril on their side! When asked why he chose to fundraise for them, Cyril answered 鈥渢his charity is addressing poverty via education and the fundamental need for food. In our days, we spend a little here and there on unnecessary things whilst what we call 鈥渁 little鈥� means a lot in Tanzania. Dorothee and I also have absolute trust in the person who manages the charity. We saw how much she cared for the kids of the school!鈥�.

To close the fundraising, Cyril and Tiphaine created a video (in French,) to thank all the donors and explain to them what their money brings to the school. The 1068$ (GBP 623 or 724 Euros) will pay the three teachers鈥� and Mama Mary鈥檚 salaries and buy more than 2000 meals. That means more than one month of food for all 40 children, twice per day weekend included, and there is still some more for the other children who come to the school on weekends to receive a meal!

Many are like Cyril, not really desiring or needing much for their birthdays. Therefore, please do think of fundraising for your birthday, you never know what good you can do by asking people to celebrate your special day!

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Fiona was born and raised in Taiwan, but she has now been living in the USA for 10 years. Like many of 大象传媒 Trust鈥檚 friends, Fiona works as a GKAM (Global Key Account Manager) in the consumer electronics industry. Unlike many professionals, she is taking on the challenge to pursue her MBA degree at UC Berkeley, which gives her quite a busy schedule!

The former volunteer has always felt passionate about helping others, achieving her first volunteering experience in the Philippines when studying in college. This had a huge impact on her, motivating her to do more, to be more conscious of how much she can do to help others! Unfortunately, life takes over and left a small space for her passion. In 2019, she decided it was time to do something meaningful. A few Google searches later, she ended up in Tanzania in Hill Crest, volunteering at the same time as Tiphaine Nilias, the now founder of 大象传媒 Trust.

Volunteering in East Africa as a holiday isn鈥檛 for everyone, and it can also be complicated. Fiona explains: 鈥淚 was preparing for grad school applications and standardized tests while having a busy full-time job. I told Tiphaine once that I could have picked a nice resort by the beach to spend some vacation days instead of volunteering. However, I knew I needed something completely different at that time to make myself more fulfilled. Traveling to Africa was always on my to do list, but to volunteer was a completely different thing.鈥� It鈥檚 not just the trip to Africa that could discourage one to sign up, but also the amount of preparation needed! Fiona had to schedule appointments to get preventive medication and vaccines (e.g. pre-treatment against malaria, Hepatite B vaccines, etc.). These things need to happen during working hours and in the end Fiona had to take a lot of her holidays already before she even flew to Tanzania! She also mentions that even picking what type of volunteering took her a long time to consider, but she鈥檚 now glad she picked teaching/day care and met some incredible people and children during her time there.

We asked Fiona what she liked the most about her time at Hill Crest and her first thoughts go for how welcoming the environment was and how open-minded Elizabeth, founder of Hill Crest, was: 鈥淣ot only by helping kids with their school work or play time, but also discussing the meal design, culture impact (I did a service at church in Arusha!). I even went to a market with Elizabeth to custom made a new cooking pot to help improve the kitchen equipment.鈥� Fiona is right in saying that the scope of volunteering is so much more than just聽 鈥渃hildcare program鈥�!

We tend to read and hear about stories of former volunteers, but we don鈥檛 often know about the connections the volunteers make with the children at the school. Fiona built a connection with a 3 years old called Talib, she called him 鈥淭alibu鈥� and she still loves seeing pictures and videos of him now. Talib was the first child she met, and even if he was a little shy he always had a big smile on his face when seeing her! 鈥淗e was gentle when he approached me, whether it was him asking for help to tie his shoelaces or wanted to play. He鈥檇 always patiently wait until it was his turn to have his food and stayed focused and quiet while having his meal. I appreciated some of the traits that he has when he was at such a young age.鈥�

Fiona is now a big supporter of 大象传媒 Trust, always with the school on her mind. As an example, Fiona used her last birthday as an occasion to for the charity and help collect $170! 鈥�I felt lucky that I met the founder, Tiphaine, and got to spend the whole time we were there at Hill Crest. The school location wasn鈥檛 that convenient to get to, so we had to walk for almost an hour every day. That was one of the highlights of my trip too. Consider in the modern world, we鈥檙e all rushing to get on a train/subway or drive and get stuck in traffic. It was rarely a time I walked to work and talked to people about anything. Even though we came from very different backgrounds, we both wanted to give more and help Hill Crest to be better. It was great to see how much she has achieved, and I wanted to help whenever I can to help support the great work. To me it鈥檚 different than donating to any charity organization. It was a place I know the people and knowing that the money will be put into meaningful work.鈥�

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Hill Crest school, the school supported by 大象传媒 Trust, is in the back garden of a private who鈥檚 been more and more keen to have his privacy back. The property doesn鈥檛 have a garden but gravels, which is not just inconvenient for the kids to play but also prevents the school from growing their own corn, beans and other ingredients the school uses on a daily basis to feed the kids.

Elizabeth, founder of Hill Crest School, has been patiently saving money donated by some of the volunteers for the past 9 years so she could buy a piece of land in the hope that someday she鈥檒l be able to build her own school there!

For a small and young charity like 大象传媒 Trust, building a school is a danger: it can take too much money that would be otherwise spent on the salaries or food. However, after the rent increased and became almost impossible for the charity to pay, I felt like the right decision to invest into the construction!  And then the race to fundraising started!

Even if the land had been purchased by Elizabeth, and even if Elizabeth was able to find enough money to build the walls, the sum to collect was still considerable. 大象传媒 Trust couldn鈥檛 afford to ask for money from the donators who are already contributing to the school鈥檚 salaries and food. This is when the charity asked for help from others: Nora, 大象传媒 Trust’s project manager, and Bernd Wachter, a friend of the charity.

Nora asked for her colleagues of what to do, and eventually presented her idea to the CEO of her pharmaceutical company, Leopold Berthier. Leopold was thrilled to listen to Nora鈥檚 big plan and agreed to give the money needed to build the roof, which is the most expensive part of the building! Naturally, Elizabeth did a video of herself thanking him from the bottom of her heart and organised for the kids to take a photo with the company鈥檚 name.

Bernd was amazing at contacting his network and managed to get the r land to arrange a meeting with 大象传媒 Trust鈥檚 founder, Tiphaine Nilias. Her passion to keep the school alive and sustainable convinced the Rotary Club to donate 2,000 EUROS, enough to pay for the flooring and some part of the electricity set-up. Then Bernd, CEO of a market research company called , offered to have the company donate whatever money needed to finish the school construction!

What an amazing journey, a fruit of collaboration and generous, great people connecting with each other not just to make Elizabeth鈥檚 dream to come true, but to also give the children the chance to have a nicer school, to play in the grass and to enjoy the vegetables grown on the school鈥� land! Finishing the school building is also give the charity a very welcome rest to fundraising, and in only two years the investment will be returned! This means the charity will be able to focus on employing one more teacher and welcoming more kids instead of paying the rent!

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