OUR MISSION
The mission of the Rafiki Village Project is to improve health, increase literacy, and promote economic prosperity in Tanzania by financing specific community projects in Tanzanian villages.

What we do

The Rafiki Village Project has entered into a collaborative partnership with the community of Dumbeta Ward. Like many rural communities in the developing world, Dumbeta Ward faces many challenges and hardships. We are working with the local community to improve education, health care and economic prosperity. We believe that addressing these three areas is the best way to have a direct, positive impact on people’s lives. Specifically, we are financing community supported projects, such as constructing infrastructure for supplying clean drinking water, building classrooms and school kitchens, and installing renewable energy projects. We also provide the five public schools and the public health clinic in the ward with quarterly stipends that are used to purchase school supplies, medications, and improvements to the facilities. Finally, we are supporting community savings groups. These help generate economic activity and give people hope that there is a way out of poverty.

   Our Guiding Principles

• We recognize the common humanity and equality of all people regardless of their country of origin, race, religion, gender, economic status or sexual identity.
  
  

• We believe that economic justice requires a transfer of wealth from the economically privileged to the economically disadvantaged.

• We believe that it is our moral responsibility to actively participate in repairing the world.

• We believe that local communities have a better understanding of their needs than outsiders. Therefore all our projects start with a conversation with the community about their needs and priorities.

 

• We believe that charity fosters dependence and hinders economic development. Therefore we require communities to make a significant contribution to all projects. All projects are a collaborative effort from start to finish.

 

• We recognize that the communities we work with are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation. We pledge to consider the environmental impact of our projects and work towards sustainability at all times.

 

• We believe that the funds raised by the Rafiki Village Project are best used in the communities themselves. Therefore we seek to keep our administrative costs to less than 10% of the budget.

 

• We have a commitment to ensuring the long-term viability of the projects we fund. The Rafiki Village Project, and the communities themselves, make a long term commitment to preserving and maintaining all projects. Furthermore, because we adhere to the principle that it is better to do a few things well than to spread ourselves too thin, our priority is towards maintaining existing projects rather than undertaking new ones.