Why Sponsor A Student at the Sega Girls School?     It is widely recognized that education of women is a powerful way to reduce poverty in their lives, families and communities. Nurturing Minds is at the forefront of providing quality education for girls by supporting the construction and development of the Sega Girls School in Tanzania.   The Sega School educates underprivileged girls with a focus on the development of leadership and business skills through school-run self-sustainable businesses.   The Sega students will graduate with both a high school diploma and the knowledge and skills that will allow them to become leaders in their community, and to pursue employment opportunities that would otherwise have been out of their reach.   Sponsoring a girl at the Sega Girls School will give you the opportunity to be part of this venture. You will be able to connect with and follow the progress of a Sega student, giving you first-hand experience of how your contribution is making a difference.      How Can You Sponsor a Sega Student?   Please see below a selection of Sega students who would love to be sponsored*...  .... There are many other students who would also love to be sponsored.   If you would like to sponsor a student, please contact our Student Sponsorship Program Coordinator,  Chris, at crh@usscgroup.com; call us on 617-969-1950;  mail us at Nurturing Minds, PO Box 144, Valley Forge, PA 19481  There are two levels of sponsorship: The Scholarship level for $720 The Tree of Knowledge level for $2500 For further details please scroll to the bottom of this page    Rehema Rehema has a mother and father and lives in Mkundi with her uncle, his siblings and her own two brothers. Rehema completed Standard VII at Mkundi Primary School, but she was struck down by a motorbike, knocked unconscious, broke her wrist and spent a long time convalescing. When she recovered, she sat the SEGA entrance exam and was successful in being selected for Form I. Before this, she was very worried that she would never have the chance to be educated again. Being accepted into the Sega Girls School became the happiest day of her life as she had been given a second chance at learning. She also thought she would never be able to write again. A new student to the Sega Girls School this year, Rehema is a friendly girl who has easily made friends and is happy in the classroom. Her friends, Doto, Jenifah and Yuster talk together at Chai and lunch breaks and look forward to playing netball together.    Happy My name is Happy Mkongwa. I come from Iringa. Currently we are living with my mother and two younger siblings in Morogoro. My dad is dead. I am the firstborn and have a younger brother and a sister. My mother is a farmer who cultivates vegetables, mainly tomatoes, and also works as a house keeper to anyone who is willing to pay her. When I finished my Primary School and took the Standard VII exam I did not get selected to a government school. My friends continued with the studies but I did not. I stayed at home and helped my mother with the housework. Later on, I managed to join Secondary Education, but my mother was not able to continue paying for my finances. I stayed at home for a long time. My mother heard about SEGA from a judicial court. We made a follow up and I got the forms and was selected to do the exam. After I joined SEGA I have changed completely. Now I am studying subjects that I never had before. We only had a few teachers in Primary School. But now I have many good teachers who care a lot about us learning. Now I understand my studies well. I am enjoying it a lot.   Furaha My name is Furaha; I am fourteen years old. I come from Dodoma. In my family we are five children, three brothers and two sisters. One of my brothers is in prison; my sisters are in Dar es Salaam. My mother is dead and I don't know my father. I stopped going to school in 2006 because of poverty. I used to sell buns in order to get money for my basic needs. Since I have joined SEGA my dream is to study hard and reach university and be a doctor. My sister had taken the application form for me. I did the interview and I was selected to join Sega, I was very happy. My aim is to study hard and help people like me. I promise to be in the forefront to get education because I know SEGA is my father and mother.   Jenifa S (on the left) A new student to Sega, Jenifa has settled in easily and confidently. She is personable, happy and smiling wherever she is. She talks happily with her friends and easily joins any group of girls at a dining table during chai or lunch time. Although Jenifah's English result was only a low C, she has demonstrated a growing confidence in her use of both spoken and instructional English. She has been eager to learn from regularly asking and answering questions in all subjects, which has resulted in her improvement. This has been noted in Geography: B - 9th in the class and History: C. Because she didn't dream ever to get to school again, Jenifah is very happy at Sega. She has settled well socially into the class. Already friends from Primary School, Jenifah and Rehema are now close friends, which made settling into a new school, where most of the girls already know each other, an easy transition. As a day student, Jenifah manages to successfully complete her daily home duties of washing clothes and fetching water before studying with Rehema. The two girls often sleep over at each other's homes and study by a kerosene lantern. She has a giving personality, ready to assist and anticipate the needs of others and her smile is contagious.    Mariam My name is Mariam. I am from Songea in a village called Mango. For now I live at Kihonda and am staying with my aunt. In our family we are four. I am the second born and am 17 years old. I was living with my parents but unfortunately my Dad passed away. He left us with my Mom. When I was in Songea I was living with my Grandmother. I stayed with her until when I finished Standard 7 in 2008. After finishing school I didn’t pass when the results came. I travelled to Dar es Salaam and stayed there until I was called by my aunt to help her with street selling. After a month I heard about SEGA and my aunt took me and filled out the form. The results were that I passed. I thank Madam Polly for saving us. The other thing I tell all my friends is to put their faith in Jesus and he will help them. My friends at school are Jojina, Johari, Sara, Upendo and Janet. They are kind and help me when we study together. Everything has changed in my life. I like to study and play games and learn new thing on the computers. I like to run and play netball and swimming. The Sega Girls School has the teachers and students and I like it because we work together and learn well.   Josephine   I come from Liwale. I have one brother who is eleven and a sister who is fifteen. My mother is dead but my dad is alive. I dropped from school in 2005 because I was sick for almost a year. I was admitted to the hospital but the medicine did not work. When I was sent home from hospital I found out that my father was accused of a murder which he did not commit. He was sent to jail for five years. My step-mother had some money which she used to take care of us until she ran out of money. So I dropped from school until my uncle came and took my siblings to help them with their studies. I was left with my step-mother who took care of me in my sick condition. We became part-time laborers at other people's farms so that we could get food and other necessities. We lived a very hard life until my father was released from jail. That is when I heard about SEGA in church. I thank SEGA for saving my life from poverty through education.   Josephine has shown tremendous academic and personal growth since beginning school at SEGA in 2009. She says that her self-esteem and confidence have improved since her arrival, and she is becoming very comfortable speaking and understanding English. She hopes to become an accountant, and particularly shines in SEGA's Math, Bookkeeping and Commerce courses. Outside of the classroom, Josephine really enjoys netball and dancing, as well as tending to her garden where she grows tembele and mchicha. She has been active in the recently-formed Environmental Club, and is eager to work hard to preserve her beautiful environment. Josephine demonstrates understanding of how to cooperate with people of all different backgrounds, and reports that living at SEGA with her classmates has helped her learn to live peacefully with others. She has grown into a strong young woman and is one of SEGA's true leaders.  Pendo My name is Pendo. I am fifteen years old. I come from Dodoma in rural areas. My tribe is Gogo. My father died when I was in my mother's womb. My mother had tried to take me to school but failed to pay school fees because she was poor. She couldn't afford even buying school stationeries for me. I stopped going to school and I was working as a house maid.  I was mistreated; I used to sleep on the floor. I worked as a house maid for one year and a half, and I decided to go back home. I heard from the street chairman about SEGA which helps girls who failed to go to school due to poverty and economic problems. I was very happy to be selected to join. My dream is to be a teacher and help the orphans.    Happiness I am Happiness. My parents separated when I was in standard 2. I studied up to standard 6 and got pregnant. I delivered a baby girl in 09/2008. When my baby reached 1 yr we traveled to Dodoma to my grandmother because life in Morogoro became very tough. I stayed there with my grandmother helping to farm maize and groundnuts.  In 2010 I decided to go back to Morogoro to my Aunt because there was news about a school called SEGA. I did the exam. At SEGA I am very happy; the teachers teach us well and are polite and kind. The buildings of SEGA are beautiful and well constructed. At SEGA we eat different varieties of food like meat, dagaa, beans and rice. After school my duties are to help my Aunt with housework preparing and cleaning rice, beans and dagaa. I wash my baby clothes because my Aunt takes care of my baby all day before she goes to town to sell vegetables. My goal is to become like Anna Makinda. She is the Speaker of Parliament of Tanzania and I would like to be able to be like her and help women. I would like to become a teacher for this reason too.   Nusura My name is Nusura and I live with my Grandmother. My mother died in 2003. When she died of typhoid my Father had to take me to live with him. Sometimes I could go to live with my Grandmother and then come back to my Dad. My Grandmother is HIV-positive and my father is a farmer who cultivates beans and maize. They could not afford the fees to send me to school.  My Grandmother had a friend who heard about SEGA and told my family. We met the Director and explained ourselves and what really happened and everything went great. Now that I am at SEGA I am learning a lot, especially in Life Skills subject. My favorite thing at SEGA is swimming. I love learning in the water and singing the games we play. I love the environment and the teachers who are really nice to us. My favorite sports are netball, football and drama because they build my body and help me become healthy.  After school hours my tasks at home are watering the gardens, cooking, cleaning, reading my books and then going to bed. I want to become a chief accountant at the Bank of Tanzania because I will be paid a high salary and help my grandparents.   Levels of Student Sponsorship Scholarship Sponsor* $720 Annually    Sponsorship Provides: Partial teacher salary Transportation Books & educational materials Recreation equipment      Donor Receives: Student bio Student picture Update twice a year The opportunity to correspond with your student   * Sponsors limited to 3 per student Tree of Knowledge Sponsor $2500 Annually    Sponsorship Provides:  As Scholarship Sponsor, plus Medical exam Hot meals Uniform Investment in campus development      Donor Receives:  As Scholarship Sponsor, plus Annual contact with Founder Dedication to donor on the 'Tree of Knowledge' mural painted in the school (photo provided)    Change Our World; Educate a Girl