Volunteer Alliance

VolunteerAlliance.org is a website currently being developed by Brian Somers, Natasha Young, Noemi Spinazzi, Rebecca Corey, and Meghan Donovan. We all met while volunteering together in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, a relatively small town with one main paved road, a vibrant culture of art and music, an intriguing history, and a great deal of suffering and poverty. While in Tanzania, we realized that Western money goes through several sets of hands before it reaches the intended recipient, which often reduces that amount to only a fraction of what it should be. And so we are starting Volunteer Alliance as a place for future volunteers to gain advice from past volunteers and to receive and manage funds for projects that are part of an on-going effort to finish the construction of a preschool in Bagamoyo and maintain a high level of education and care for its students. We hope that Volunteer Alliance can serve as a foundation for a continuing dialogue between current, past, and future volunteers, and serve as a guarantee that funds are allocated properly. Because donations are managed by the volunteers, 100% of donated funds are spent in their intended place, and projects are prioritized by a continual assessment of the school needs. Currently, one of the top priorities is to drill a fresh water well so that the children have safe drinking water while at school. Another top priority is maintaining funding for "ugi", a porridge, that is fed to the children while at school and is often their only source of food for the day. The children of Bagamoyo suffer from extreme poverty, AIDS, malaria, and malnutrition. It is absolutely imperative that the educational infrastructure is built to help future generations escape the current poor standards of living. Volunteer Alliance aims to help the children in Tanzania today, and ensure a brighter future for those to come.