AVONDALE, Arizona – Two socially dedicated faculty of Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) took two weeks in June to visit an orphanage in Tanzania to fund raise and volunteer their educational services. Dr. Olga Tsoudis, a sociology professor, and EMCC counselor Dr. Bertha Medina, both believe in making a difference in the lives of students, whether at their home campus in Avondale, or a world away in Africa.
The orphanage was founded by Theresa Grant, founder of Make a Difference (MAD), who has made a commitment to change the lives of 22 Tanzanian orphans by raising them to become educated leaders in their own African villages.
Similar to Grant, Tsoudis and Medina have committed their lives to youth and education at EMCC, but they were impressed by the enormous impact the orphanage has on every aspect of the orphan’s lives. In addition to providing a home, the orphanage is a complete learning environment where the children have a place become nourished with food, education and life skills.
According to Tsoudis, the young students were respectful, creative, attentive, loving, smart, and had a tremendous appreciation for everything that they have and what Grant is doing for them.
“I found myself comparing them to children in materialistic societies who are not happy, appreciative or respectful, and it made me sad," said Tsoudis. "Then, I thought about myself and how fortunate I have been, and how I can further take that fortune and help make a difference for them.”
The two EMCC educators did take it further. They invited Theresa Grant to visit EMCC to share her story and speak to students about the orphanage, the impact of AIDS in Africa, and hopefully inspire the audience to make a difference.
Grant will be speaking on Wednesday, August 21, at 4:15 – 5:30 p.m., and again on Thursday, August 22, at 8:30 – 9:45 a.m. and 1:00 – 2:15, in the Plaza Gallery on the campus of EMCC, located at Dysart and Thomas Roads in Avondale. It is also free and open to the public.
Tanzania's economy is among the bottom 10 percent of the world. Over 40 percent of the people who live in Tanzania are aged between 0-14 years old. A high risk of diseases exists in the country along with the poverty situation which leads to Tanzania having a very young life expectancy rate and an infant mortality rate of 66.93 deaths/1000 live births.
There are numerous schools in Tanzania. However, 75% of the children whom attend primary government school don't go on to secondary school. They are taught in Swahili but their entrance exams for secondary school are in English. In order to make sure that more children graduate from primary to secondary school, MAD sends children to schools which teach English so that they may pass their exams and continue on to secondary school.
Theresa Grant has dedicated her life to helping disadvantaged children get access to quality education. In 2005 she quit her job as a marketing executive in the Silicon Valley and sold all of her possessions to fulfill a calling she had to make a difference in Africa. She moved to an orphanage on a farm outside of Lusaka, Zambia and then decided to start her own organization solely dedicated to empowering children in need called, Make A Difference (MAD). http://www.gomadnow.org/