Our Mission
To establish the Promise Village Academy in the Simanjiro district of rural Tanzania to reduce generational poverty and create a vibrant, healthy community.
ABOUT US
As our passions focus on empowering others and education, we searched for a way to combine our efforts to make an impact on this impoverished community that has been left behind. We are privileged to use our time, energy, and resources to give these children opportunities will not otherwise have. We are grateful to serve the children of the Maasai tribe by creating educational opportunities and promoting a path for the reduction of poverty.
A Letter from our Executive Committee
Dr. Donna Gunn, EdD didn’t know how, but she knew she had to help. A lifelong educator Donna visited Tanzania on a safari in 2010 and was staggered by the deplorable conditions, widespread malnutrition, children’s stunted growth, and utter lack of education she found in the tiny villages of the Maasai tribes living in rural Tanzania. Dr. Gunn was especially moved by the children she met, and promised to dedicate the rest of her life to helping these children and their communities. Since then, she has provided the Maasai children with everything from food, to clean water and prosthetic limbs – and Donna shows no signs of slowing down.
In 2016, Donna, a true believer that “Education is Powerful”, approached Dr. Amin Mery and his foundation, Privilege 2 Serve, to request they join her in building a school for the Maasai tribe in rural, poor Tanzania. The Maasai people recognized the need to educate their youth so the community could thrive in the modern world. After two years of procuring the property and designing the school, the Privilege 2 Serve team was able to break ground in 2018.
The school began for preschoolers in July 2019 and so did the road to a newly minted future. The Maasai children gained access to clean water, clean clothes, two meals a day, computers and books. Additional grades were added each year and now in 2022, classes are offered from pre-school through 3rd grade. Instruction is in English which will allow the graduates to communicate throughout Tanzania, opening up a whole new world for them and their families.
The Promise Village Academy plans to continue to expand a grade per year and offers an incredible opportunity for these children to grow and one day raise their community out of poverty. As we work towards expanding educational opportunities for all ages, we are humbled by the many nonprofits and donors who have chosen to take part with us on this journey.