WHAT KIND OF PERSON HEADS OFF TO AFRICA AT THE AGE OF 17 AND THEN SETS UP A REGISTERED CHARITY BEFORE THEY’RE 20?

The answer is Lucy Obod.

She’s not in my target market and she’s not talking about menopause, marriage or motherhood and she’s only 20 years old, so I could easily be her mother. Maybe even her grandmother at a pinch, if I’d started young enough, but we won’t go there.

Lucy headed off to Tanzania to do some charity work when she was just 17 and ended up staying for two years. Frustrated with red tape and government requirements, she gathered together a group of experts, formed a board of executives and set up her own charity so she could really make the difference that she wanted to make.

Find out more about this incredible young woman, her experiences in Tanzania, what life is like there and what she wants to achieve. Honestly, talking to people like this is so inspirational, I am so lucky to do this.

Find out more about Lucy, her charity, the work they do and how you can support them.

Lucy started this organization at 20 years old, after volunteering back in 2018 and working on a three-year project to construct a school in Tanzania. She fell in love with the children and the amazing, colourful community.

In Tanzania, access to education for disadvantaged children is greatly challenged, particularly in light of COVID-19, and we want to work to change this, as she strongly believe education is the foundation of ending poverty.

At The Kutamani Foundation we are working alongside 4 qualified educators here in Australia to develop a ‘teacher outreach/upskill’ program, which is centered around the Tanzanian curriculum. It’s designed to provide the 60% of underqualified teachers in Tanzania with teaching and learning concepts that can be applied in any classroom setting.

One of Tanzania’s biggest issues within education is the lack of quality education due to teacher skill sets, a lack of resources, and large student to teacher ratios. The whole purpose of this program is to have a broader outreach, by trying to improve the standard of education in grassroots schools, which have fallen between the cracks. We are one of the very few organizations working to tackle this issue.