good news for masaera village in kilimanjaro region

Water gushing down the newly built Dropbox by EWB-USA Valpo in Masaera Kilimanjaro Tanzania

Masaera Canal Junction 1 upper section being constructed

The Social Action Leadership Team or SALT is the Spirit-led social justice ministry of the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University in which students in community seek to embody the Christian call to be the "salt of the earth" (Matt. 5:13). SALT helps students develop a passion and practice of Christian social action. SALTers draw upon God’s love for all people to cultivate the skills of community organizing, awareness raising, and fund development. SALT alumni are equipped to lead lives of social justice and serve as agents for positive change in their communities.

As an essential part of this mission, SALT partners with both international and local communities in order to address critical needs within those areas. Every year for the past two decades, SALT has selected a specific project in need of funding and organized a fund raising campaign around it known as the World Relief Campaign (WRC). 

These projects vary greatly in location and type, but consistently offer a sustainable asset to the selected community. Once the project and target monetary goal are established, SALT works to educate and organize the campus and surrounding community in order to both increase awareness of the need within the selected region and raise funds.

SALT is excited to announce the 2011 WRC - kuJenga: Building Minds, One Block at a Time.  This campaign will benefit children in the village of Masaera in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.  SALT will fund the construction of a pre-primary classroom for the Mandaka Primary School in the village of Masaera, Tanzania. 

The school will provide a place of education for many generations of children in the future.  The name of the project was inspired by the Swahili word kujenga, meaning “to build” or “to create.”  SALT will collaborate with the

Masaera Village Community Development Group (MAVCODEG: a non-profit community based organization in Masaera, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania) which works alongside the Mandaka Primary School to enhance the education of the children in the village by helping to give them an environment in which they can succeed.

 SALT will be working in cooperation with MAVCODEG to carry out this fund raising campaign and educate the Valparaiso community about the impact an early place of education can have on a child’s development and future.