Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I recently met with Phil McWilliams, who is the Australian Project Manager for the Mwika Hope Foundation, and Pastor Godsave Ole Megiroo, the Imara Foundation Assistant CEO. They told me of the great work taking place in Tanzania for the education and health of local people. It was not the first time I had heard of the excellent work of the Imara Foundation, founded by Mike and Lyndall Rothery. The Rotherys have been involved in Tanzania for more than 15 years, and they now support more than 1,000 local pastors. Their core team of 20 work on four major areas, being pastor and leadership development, an HIV-AIDS ministry, evangelism and community development and relief aid. Although the Imara Foundation is involved with many projects, I will specifically confine my comments to the Mwika Hope Foundation.

Mwika is in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania. In 2005 Mwika community leaders approached the Imara Foundation for assistance in a range of community development and aid projects. Imara Foundation provided the impetus to establish Imara Community Development in Australia to financially assist in a range of community development projects. They include education of HIV-AIDS orphans and the development of vocational training opportunities for children who are denied further education. They also include widow support and assistance in gaining economic independence and assistance in the developing of basic health services.

Mwika Hope Foundation was established by Pastor Godlisten Mrina, the local Baptist pastor, and his wife, with the support of pastors from other denominations. Mwika comprises four villages. The Mwika Hope Foundation was established to comprise kindergarten and primary school education, vocational training for children and adults and support for HIV-AIDS widows and to provide basic health care to all registered children. Predominantly to provide the opportunity for education, land was purchased in 2005, and construction of the classrooms and administrative facilities commenced in 2007. The school is on terraced land. The top level has two classrooms under one roof and two admin offices in between. The water comes down from Mount Kilimanjaro and is plumbed into a 2,000-litre water tank which was provided by Australian funds.

Mwika is committed to having 30 children in each class so that each child will have the better attention of the teacher, whereas in other schools it is common to have 60 to 100 children for each teacher. The first stage of the new primary school opened in January 2009 and provides classrooms for the kindergarten. Stage 2 will see one new classroom added each year. Uniforms have been made at the project using manual Singer sewing and knitting machines provided by Australian funds. Widows and other people are learning how to sew so that they have a skill that can provide some income for them as well.

HIV-AIDS is widespread in the area, with the result of growing numbers of widows and orphans. The disease has affected the social fabric of the people in the area, and agriculture has declined due to the decrease in the numbers of young men and women available to perform the work. There are more than 150 orphan children whose parents have died of HIV-AIDS, 70 of whom have tested positive for the virus. There are 185 widows whose husbands have died of HIV-AIDS, 13 of whom have tested positive for the virus. Many have refused to be tested because of fear they may have the virus. Additionally, 18 women who are not widows have tested positive for HIV-AIDS.

The aims of the project include providing a quality pre-primary school education for 72 children who have lost one or both parents to HIV-AIDS. The educational opportunity is to be available to the children regardless of gender. Another aim is to provide vocational training for children who have no opportunity for further education. As part of the project, there is a widow support element to provide the 185 HIV-AIDS widows with the means of becoming economically independent and able to support their families. Basic health services are also to be provided to all registered children. Recently at church, Phil McWilliams gave us a slide show of his latest visit to Mwika. The Imara mission is providing hope and a far better future for the people of Mwika through their involvement in Tanzania. For providing me with information, I thank Phil McWilliams, Godsave Ole Megiroo and Jenny Willdigg. I also thank them all, and all those who raise money and work at Mwika for the good of the people. They do great and valuable work.

I will finish by saying that last year Global Development Group audited the project and found that it was an excellent project and appeared to be superbly run, both at an administrative and a project level. Organisations such at the Imara Foundation and the Mwika Hope Foundation are excellent examples of where great work is being accomplished. These are the sorts of projects that should be strongly supported by AusAID, and I will be writing to the government in support of these worthy causes.