Sustainable Education
MISSION
Relieve poverty by advancing educational opportunities for underprivileged youth in Tanzania by providing systemic intervention, scholarships, institutional improvements, and skills-based training.
HISTORY
After climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and falling in love with the country and its people, in 1998 India Howell moved to Tanzania to manage a lodge for a safari company. Noticing the growing problem of orphaned and marginalized children living in poverty, India felt compelled to take action, and in 2004 she partnered with Peter Leon Mmassy to create a loving and permanent home for 17 orphaned children. With the help of supporters in Tanzania, the US, and Canada, that single house has expanded to become the Rift Valley Children’s Village (RVCV), which currently serves as a permanent and loving home to 97 children. The Children’s Village is our main commitment of the Tanzanian Children’s Fund but they recognize that the most effective way to improve outcomes for marginalized children is to attack the roots of childhood poverty and strengthen the community as a whole. In order to do so, in 2004 India and Peter also created the Rift Valley Children’s Fund (RVCF), a thriving community-based organization which provides free healthcare, primary and secondary education, microfinance loans and training to the residents of Oldeani Ward. The Tanzanian Children’s Fund of Canada serves the community of Oldeani Ward by providing secondary school scholarships to deserving students.
TANZANIAN CHILDREN’S FUND OF CANADA SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The Tanzanian Children’s Fund of Canada was created to provide educational support for the Rift Valley Children’s Fund through secondary school scholarships for deserving students. We work to ensure that students have everything they need to achieve academic success.
If you’d like to give the gift of education to a student in Tanzania, please visit our donation page.
US-FUNDED PROGRAMMING
In addition to secondary school scholarships, RVCF also provides numerous other services to the community that are funded by our affiliate entity in the United States, the Tanzanian Children’s Fund (TCF), which is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization. If you would like to learn more about RVCF’s Children’s Village the health, microfinance or education programs that are funded through TCF, please visit www.tanzanianchildrensfund.org for more information.
Board of Directors
SUSAN SCOTT
Susan has been a close part of our family for many years and we all always look forward to her annual volunteer stay with us in Tanzania. Sue is a beloved member of the Tarangire House at the Children’s Village and in addition to sharing walks with the children and celebrations with the mamas she always uses her 20 years of retail management experience with Polo Ralph Lauren to whip our storage containers that house our supply of clothing, shoes and more into shape each year!
NICOLE ENTZ
Nicole joined the TCF Board in November 2018. After falling in love with Africa in 1988 while living in Nigeria, she was able to return as part of a 2006 healthcare team visit to RVCV. Nicole then visited RVCV seven times over ten years, excited by the growth she witnessed and inspired by the “children first” philosophy as well as the love that is evident in all aspects of the work of the RCVC. A retired Nurse Practitioner living outside of Calgary, Nicole has 34 years of experience working in various healthcare-related positions, including front-line work, management, education and training, community development, and Primary Care. Prior to joining the TCF team, she served on the board of the Mary A. Tidlund Charitable Foundation for 7 years. In 2018, she returned once again to Tanzania, this time on holiday with family and friends. They stopped at RVCV so she could share where she has spent time over the years and show off what she admires to her loved ones. Having seen the brilliant difference that RVCV has made in the lives of so many in the community, Nicole is excited about the potential for growth and support from Canada and to be a part of the process.
INDIA HOWELL
India Howell has lived and worked in Tanzania since 1998. She has devoted her life to improving the lives of orphaned and marginalized children. She founded the Rift Valley Children’s Village in 2004 by opening her own home to 17 children in need. Little did she know that one day over 90 children would be living with her at RVCV. Today India is the legal guardian of over 90 children and she is known throughout northern Tanzania as ‘Mama India,’ a woman who has provided not only a home to unwanted children but hope and employment to villagers who have never had a job, and scholarships to high achieving students in the local community. India is the first to say that she has not done this work alone. Hardworking and selfless, practical and compassionate, she inspires tremendous loyalty from friends and colleagues. India has found her work, her passion, and her home in Tanzania.
LAURA PROCIUK
Laura Prociuk joined the TCF Canada board in January 2020! Her first visit to the Village was in 2017, after learning of RVCV from the 60 minutes story, although it feels like she has been a part of the family for much longer. Laura grew up in Ontario and has a Biology & Chemistry degree from Queen’s University and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph, Ontario. She lives and works in Kingston, Ontario and is both a veterinarian and college professor. Much of her time away from this work is spent volunteering (and travelling) with various veterinary volunteer groups abroad. She has traveled and worked as a veterinarian in many places including Malawi, Mafia Island and Zanzibar. She also tries to visit RVCV at least once a year to share her love of science and veterinary medicine with the kids. In her limited spare time, she trains for marathons and snowshoes with her dog June, as much as she can.
MOLLY VERMEULEN
Molly resides in Victoria BC and holds a degree in Child and Youth Care from the University of Victoria. She currently manages and administers child care programs for a local, community not-for-profit providing services to a Victoria community with a wide variety of family demographics. Community is very important to Molly which is evident through her history of working with children locally but also internationally through volunteer experiences in Chile, Uganda as well as her practicum at the Rift Valley Children’s Village in 2018. Molly will be returning to her studies in the fall of 2020 to acquire a degree in Education.
RON VERMEULEN
Ron joined the TCF Canada board in November, 2018. He currently lives in Victoria, BC and has over 35 years of land acquisition and public involvement experience in the energy industry. Ron retired in 2015 from the business he founded in 2000 but stays active still through a Board position with the company. Prior to joining the TCF Board Ron was a member of the Board for the Calgary Chapter of the MS Society of Canada as well as the Mary A. Tidlund Charitable Foundation which introduced him to the Tanzanian Children’s Fund. Ron visited the children’s village in May, 2018 accompanying his daughter who spent 5 weeks volunteering. Ron hopes to expand TCF Canada’s exposure especially in Western Canada.