Salome's Story

I first learned about Salome and her family a few years ago when a good friend of mine taught at a primary school in Tanzania. When my friend came back to Canada, we worked together to match Canadian children with some African children through a penpal program. Salome is the mother of my daughter's penpal.

Salome is 21 years old and is the mother of Kelvin (4 years old) and Glory (2 years old). When she was 10 years old, Salome's father passed away. For financial reasons, Salome moved in with some relatives and became a "house girl". Despite her numerous responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning and laundry, Salome was able to complete Standard Seven in school. However, she was not able to complete secondary school. Our initiative will give her the financial means to return to school and work towards her dream to study journalism.

Joanne Jones of Mined Recreations is willing to consider Salome for sponsorship in college. Salome wants to educate others on the gender issues she has faced in Tanzania, hopefully empowering other women through her story.

Funding for Salome's tuition is deposited into her own bank account. Before this initiative, Salome had never had a bank account in her name. Unfortuantely, this is not uncommon for young women in Africa. One of the requirements to be funded by Mom2Mom Africa is that the young adults must have a bank account in their own name. The money is deposited in this account on a semester by semester basis. Bank account statements are provided after each transaction. School tuition receipts are scanned and emailed after each payment is received. The progress of Salome will also be monitored, with academic reports sent each semester.

- Alison Fraser