This year’s program is called Girl Power! and is a jointly executed program organized by CPAR Tanzania and the International Centre for Students at the University of Manitoba. Like last year’s program, four students have been selected to participate in a unique co-curricular service learning experience that facilitates student development in a development context. This year’s students include Rachelle and Tito from Medicine, Breann from the Gender and Women’s Studies program and Carly, who is about to enter the Faculty of Human Ecology.

The program objective is to work alongside CPAR’s staff to facilitate an after school program for high school girls and boys that explores issues related to gender, human rights and sexual and reproductive health. The program will be implemented in a culturally sensitive manner and will complement the formal Tanzanian high-school curriculum. It will employ a variety of techniques to engage and empower the students, resulting in increased awareness and confidence, as well as key changes in attitudes, behaviours and practices - all leading to better health.

The program will take place in the town of Karatu, in the Arusha Region of Tanzania. Karatu is a small trading centre about 2 hours north west of Arusha. It is the last stop before you reach the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The schools involved in the program are Milmani Secondary School and Wel Well Secondary School, both of which are boys-and-girls schools from Form 1 to Form 4.

For more information and to read about how this program is helping to change the way they see things, you can follow Rachelle, Breann, Carly and Tito’s blog at:

tanzaniajourney.wordpress.com

This is the third year that this partnership for service learning has been implemented. Starting in 2010, Ntchito Yabwino (Good Work!) took place in the Lilongwe, Nkhata Bay and Mchinji Districts of Malawi, followed-up by Badili Mtizamo in Karatu, Tanzania, in May and June of last year. UofM students have also participated in CPAR Study Tours to northern Uganda (2007) and Tanzania (2009). Together they have been able to raise almost $35,000 for the projects they have visited.