We are happy to introduce a new project to you.
The new project is the Gily’s Daycare and Learning Center in Arusha, Tanzania. This kindergarten with an attached preschool was founded in 2019 by Gilbert Lasway and is one of the projects of the Gily’s Children Foundation. Gilbert is a teacher by profession and works as a coordinator at a college in Arusha. He devotes his free time entirely to his hobby: the Daycare and Learning Center.
In the Daycare and Learning Center, children between the ages of 9 months and 9 years are looked after. The facility is aimed specifically at families from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The care in the facility is free of charge for the families. In order to ensure care and catering, the center is dependent on regular donations.
While their children are being looked after, parents have the opportunity to work or study. There are no public childcare facilities in Tanzania for children under the age of 6. Many parents are therefore forced to leave their children alone or with neighbors while they are working or trying to find work.
The children are also only taught half a day in the public elementary school – without there being any care offers for the afternoon. Therefore, the Gily’s Foundation has also been offering an afternoon care program for primary school children since 2022.
When the corona pandemic started, we became aware of the center for the first time. Step Africa, a volunteer organization located in Arusha and we are working with, called for support during this phase. During the first wave of the pandemic we helped to support some families in need with our corona aid package.
Now we would like to expand the support in the future and support the center in the long term. In cooperation with volunteers and Kira from Step Africa, we were able to integrate Gily’s into our existing sponsorship program.
A sponsorship ensures that the running costs that are currently incurred monthly for the center can be covered and that the children can be looked after in the day-care center. When the children are old enough and ready for school, they will go to a nearby public school and then continue to have the opportunity to come to the center in the afternoon for care and homework help.
Gily’s After-School Center has a special history as it was built in Shangarai. This piece of land was purchased in 2020 as Gily’s Foundation’s second building – and first property – thanks to generous donations from numerous volunteers and supporters. The building has been largely completed since 2023 and not only houses the afternoon program, but also the pre-school class and further education programs for the Gily’s families will also be offered here in the future. The younger children will stay in the building that was originally rented, but there are plans to merge the two facilities into the new building in the future.
The sponsorship program mentioned above is a project sponsorship that can be concluded for a contribution of €15 or more per month. Contributions benefit the entire facility and cover rent, teacher and cook salaries, food, game and teaching materials, emergency medical treatment where necessary, construction and renovation costs. After we had originally started arranging individual / child-related sponsorships, we decided to switch to project sponsorships in order to focus on the important work of the facility and to be able to guarantee equal opportunities for all children.
Are you interested in a sponsorship? Then feel free to contact us via e-mail or via Facebook or Instagram. Sponsors receive exclusive access to an online update area, where we regularly publish news and background reports from Gily’s. Thus, the sponsors are closely involved in the development of the facility.
We look forward to hearing from you!
You can also find more details in our information sheet.
