2023-2024 Annual Impact Report
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2022-2023 Impact Report
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Annual Impact Report 2021-2022
Annual Impact Report 2021-2022
Asali Project partners with Simba’s Footprints in Tanzania to uplift communities and improve childhood quality of life through education, arts, healthcare, and advocacy for women and youth.
What We Do
Support community-led programs
Offer flexible funding and grants
Connect partners with networks and resources
Key Impact
2,115 youth reached
$53,812 invested in locally led initiatives
1st music scholarship awarded
9 community projects supported
4 years of trusted partnerships
2022 Initiatives
Launched the Asali Marketplace to support local entrepreneurs
Developed income-generating projects (e.g., chicken farming)
Continued support for professional development & advocacy campaigns
Looking Ahead
We’re expanding! Asali is seeking new grassroots partners across East Africa to grow our impact and invest in more community-driven change
Impact
Asali’s Approach: What is Community-Driven Development?
Asali’s Approach: What is Community-Driven Development?
The driving force behind the founding of Asali, and a tenet that we continue to hold to, is the Community-Driven Development approach. People often ask, “What is community-driven development?” It is a simple enough concept, but can often make or break the ability of an NGO to achieve sustainability and true change. Globalgiving.org defines Community-Driven Development as “a grassroots approach to development in which the locus of power is shifted to community groups to make decisions around how development resources are allocated.” At Asali, our partnerships are fostered based on this model, with some hallmarks of our vision being:
- Identifying organizations with sustainable, youth-focused community development programming
- Supporting local leadership to establish true collaboration and trust-based partnerships
- Allowing community members to identify their needs and collaborate on/participate in solutions
This model is in contrast to more prescriptive, foreign-led nonprofit work which can be exploitative, fail to empower local people, or lack the community buy-in required to ensure the success of any project.
Organizations that are community-driven often lack resources and must shift their focus and the work that they are doing to fit what their international funders want to support. Donations can be restricted to specific causes, decided on by donors thousands of miles away. If you think of your own community or the place where you grew up, who do you believe knows the needs of that community best? To us, it will always be the people who live there, understand the culture, and know the subtleties and intricacies of their own homes. At Asali, we’re so proud of the partnership we’ve built with Simba’s Footprints. The Simba’s team has taken their vision to the next level in improving the lives of so many children and families in their Majengo community.
Recently we have begun the process of evaluating opportunities for new partnerships and can’t wait to connect with more local leaders and support their visions.
Graduate without borders
We are so proud of one of Asali’s co-founders, Sophie Zeif. Check out this article from the MGH Institute of Health Professions! Read the full article, A Graduate Without Borders here.
Annual Report 2020-2021
Our annual report is out. Learn more about what we accomplished this past year, our finances and much more! Thank you for being part of our global community.
Impact
What’s New with Asali!
What’s New with Asali!
What’s New with Asali!
Oh what a year it’s been! We are excited to share an update on programs, partnerships, and other important things Asali has been up to since our last newsletter. Although the past year has been difficult for many of us worldwide, we also have some things worth celebrating. In the past year, we have developed new partnerships, strengthened existing ones, opened up new opportunities for our local leaders, and most importantly, secured new funding for Simba’s programs. Below are a few highlights from this past year that we are happy to share with you:
Simba’s Footprints Community Center
We continue to support the local team at Simba’s Footprints Community Center as they grow and expand their impact on the wider community. The center now reaches over 1,000 children and adolescents through its education- and recreation-based programming as well as its health initiatives.
Saidi, Simba’s first Asali-funded scholarship recipient, graduated his program in 2020 as a licensed electrician with two job offers! We are so proud of his hard work over the past three years and can’t wait to see what’s next.
Simba’s music program is booming, with a waiting list of students wanting to join. This past year, an additional room was renovated to accommodate an expansion of the program. Asali partnered with Musary, Inc, another Massachusetts based nonprofit with an amazing instrument-borrowing program, to bring more instruments to students at Simba’s. Want to learn more? Check out our shoutout in the Boston Globe!
Local leaders do it better: This has always been our belief and it’s why we are committed to investing in Simba’s leaders and their professional development. This past spring we helped the Executive Director of the center, Charles Godfrey, enroll and participate in a Social Impact Incubator run by the Segal Family Foundation. This seven month intensive training brings together 23 innovative leaders from around Tanzania to network and learn skills on capacity-building, strategic planning, leadership, and much more!
Capacity-building: When our local leaders have access to funding, resources, and professional development opportunities, they can expand their local impact. This winter, we worked with the Simba’s Team to apply for a grant from the Women Fund Tanzania organization. This grant will allow the team on the ground to have more dollars (roughly USD15,000) to strengthen their women’s education, health, and entrepreneurship programing.
Monthly donor program: We want to extend a special thank you to our monthly donors! As a donor-funded organization, having consistent support is invaluable. It ensures the long-term success of our partners, helps us better budget for our activities, and builds accurate yearly operating budgets for Asali and our partners. So, whether it’s five dollars or 25, we ask you to consider becoming a monthly donor!
Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more regular updates!
Love and Honey,
The Asali Bees (Margot, Sophie, Amy, Pam, Charlotte and Margot)
Annual Report 2018 -2019
Annual Report for 2018-2019
The Asali Project’s Annual Report for 2018-2019 highlights significant strides in enhancing educational and healthcare opportunities for children in Tanzania. Key achievements include:
Expansion of English Programs: The initiative grew to serve 275 students across three primary schools—Langoni, Mji Mpia, and Miembeni. This expansion aims to bolster English proficiency, crucial for students as instruction transitions from Swahili to English in higher grades.
Healthcare Initiative: Collaborating with Simba’s Footprints Foundation, Asali launched a healthcare program enrolling 30 medically vulnerable children in health insurance, ensuring better access to medical services.
Resource Development: The Asali Library and music studio received new instruments and materials, enriching the learning environment and fostering creative expression among students.
Volunteer Engagement: Eight industry professionals contributed their expertise, conducting medical training and supporting system administration, reflecting a strong commitment to community development.
Financial Overview: As of July 2019, Asali invested $12,970 in education and received $12,414 in in-kind donations, underscoring the community’s support and the organization’s dedication to transparency.
These accomplishments underscore Asali’s commitment to empowering Tanzanian children through education and healthcare initiatives. For a comprehensive understanding of their impact.
