FRIENDS OF MEALI INTERNATIONAL
Donations may be earmarked to specific projects.
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ABOUT US
Friends of Meali International, Inc., was established in early 2009 to partner with the children of Tanzania, beginning with the children of the Meali School in Tanzania’s Karatu District. Dedicated to the belief that a good education is the cornerstone of a person’s ability to succeed, our goal is to make a real difference in the lives of the children so they, in turn, can make a difference for their families, their community, and their country, and improve their own potential prosperity.
MISSION
Improve the educational environment for Tanzanian children to help them achieve higher education levels as the foundation for greater life opportunities.
IMPROVING THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
Friends of Meali undertakes projects and programs that are well defined, manageable, and directly beneficial to the students. With the funds raised for each project, we hire local workers whenever possible, benefiting the local economy, as well as the students. Our goal is to give the school a boost that would take years for the local community to accomplish on its own.
Nancy Scull, President Emeritus, with children of Meali.
OUR PEOPLE
FRIENDS OF MEALI INTERNATIONAL'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Tanzanian Operations
Lucas John Mhina Director
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Friends of Meali, based in Arusha, Tanzania where he is responsible for initiating, operating and managing all Tanzanian Activities.
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Owner/Operator of Carnivor Safaris covering East Africa (www.carnivoressafaris.co.tz)
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Founder/Director of Hope Girls and Boys School
US Operations
Dana P. Devereux: Founder and Co-President
Ina Heafitz: Co-President
Tim Roach: Director
Marlene Lee: Director
Beverly Sierpina: Director
Debra Lang: Director
Nancy C Scull: Founder and President Emeritus
Betsy McCombs: Founder and Director
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Lucas Mhina, Director, Friends of Meali Tanzania Limited.
“As her safari guide, I introduced Nancy Scull to Tanzania and to the Meali Primary School in late 2007.
We have been working together ever since. For me, it’s ‘pay-back time’ for all the support I received for my own education. Nancy’s fund raising with Friends of Meali has allowed me as a native Tanzanian to really help some of my people. We have a wonderful partnership!”
OUR HISTORY
A LIFE CHANGING TRIP
In November 2007, a group of friends took a “trip of a lifetime” to Tanzania. In addition to the wonderful game drives, the tour included visits with local people engaged in various aspects of Tanzanian life. Our visit to the Meali Primary School was a particular highlight.
The Head Teacher talked with us about the school and introduced several classes of boys and girls. He facilitated a dialog with the oldest students, about what we had done with our lives and what the children hoped to do with theirs. One boy said he would like to be a doctor. The idea that a child so impoverished and in such an isolated place as Meali, in the middle of a coffee plantation and 30 minutes drive from a paved road, could even think about such a big dream as becoming a doctor was truly inspiring. We wanted to do anything we could to help.
When asked about the school’s needs, the Head Teacher answered that $1,000 would buy textbooks for the entire school. In reality, that first $1,000 gift reduced sharing from three students per book to only two, the standard that has become the normal level of improvement we seek.
The act of providing such meaningful support was addictive. The Tanzanians were so appreciative that it was impossible to stop with only that one small effort.
Desks were the Head Teacher’s next priority – enough to reduce sharing to two students per desk. But the $4,800 price tag for this project required recruiting more contributors. Conversations with friends and relatives produced such enthusiasm for the project that the money was raised in just a few weeks. Friends of Meali was born!
Continued fundraising required incorporating and obtaining tax-exempt status with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which was granted in March 2009. Next step was to cement our relationship with Lucas Mhina, a native Tanzanian, to spearhead all our projects. In 2011, Friends of Meali International, Inc., formalized that relationship by creating Friends of Meali Tanzania Limited, a tax-exempt Tanzanian company headed by a native Tanzanian, Lucas Mhina. Our two organizations work exclusively with each other and share the same mission.
In just four years of working together, we have completely transformed the Meali Primary School with the projects and programs we have undertaken.
To quote one of Meali’s teachers,
“Meali today is not the Meali of yesterday.” The local community tells us it would have taken them decades to accomplish the same metamorphosis…
