Five year ago I was introduced to this amazing organization based an urban area in Dar es Salaam. At first, I was not sure how we were going to contribute to the organization. For years, we have been trying to find unique ways to support the organization's mission but also find ways to encourage the youth to continuing to be involved in their community.
One the other side, we noticed that we had guests/ travellers who wanted to get involved in giving back but were not sure how or had just limited time when they visited Tanzania. At Happy Center, since they are a performing arts program, we suggested to continue to have the kids and youth with the guidance of their amazing dedicated instructors, prepare live performances. We then started sharing and inviting guests to come and see the performance when they are in Dar es Salaam but also if they can bring in donations of school supplies, toys, clothes, shoes and other cool things but also share words of inspiration to the kids and youth. We have noticed that after the guests have visited they have also found a better way to contribute to the program. Examples are below:
#Givingback while traveling doesn’t take a lot. During Erica's visit, she requested to spend an extra week giving back in Tanzania. We visited happy center and was able to identify that they needed a face to their organization/ something to identify them as and so at the end of her project, we created a logo for Happy Center with the help of a local digital designer, which the organization loves and looks forward to using. Thank you Erica and Joseph the logo designer for your contribution.
This august with the assistance of our travelers we were able to surprise the youth with a custom-made t-shirt with the new logo on it, guests brought in school supplies and funds were donated towards their administration costs. Thank you to Lori, Albert, Sheron, Maria, Michael, Roy and Carmen for your contribution.
The young boys at Happy center. Photographed by Athumani Nzowa
Guest Sheron dancing with the youth.
Happy center youth during their performance.
Happy Center, Tanzania - An after-school performing arts program for Tanzanian's youth in Ilala district. It is a safe heaven for underprivileged youth who come to explore their talents and potential outside of the classroom.
Happy center continues to need your creative support. Please contact us at curiousontanzania@gmail.com to share your ideas and see how you can also contribute but also travel to visit the Happy Center.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Justa