Since 2003 The Mango Tree has supported and funded 23,162 young people with access to some form of educational support. 2,723 of these young people have now graduated and approximately 755 are in secure employent. 43.7% of these are girls and women. All of these young adults come from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds and many have also been traumatised by physical or sexual abuse and severe neglect.
Our fantastic vocational training facility in Tanzania, the Kyela Polytechnic College, has now enrolled well over 300 students for this academic year, achieving additional registration to deliver new courses and new funds to expand the business side of the College.
We are delighted to have longstanding support from The Oglesby Charitable Trust, the Samworth Foundation, Aspect Capital, Shoe Zone and the Be One Foundation, which will enable the College to open a new driving school, improve our student accommodation hostels and continue to improve the College's teaching infrastructure. The College hopes to reach a target intake of 440 students in 2015-16, so that it will be able to generate sufficient income from student fees to become an independent, self-financing institution.
We have improved gender equality for disadvantaged young women, as 95% of the girls we have supported have been able to remain in school and many have already achieved the grades and confidence to enter further education and training.
We have created a culture of community social responsibility within the areas where we work, as over 150 community-based groups (2,000 people) have started to develop their own projects and fundraise for educational support for other children in their communities.
We have contributed towards the economic recovery of societies and local economies devestated by HIV and AIDS as our students graduate and enter a wide range of different professions.
Comprehensive extra curricula holiday tuition and home-work study programmes for primary and secondary school children.
Match-funded fee support for OVC to attend government secondary schools and full bursaries for high achievers to access private secondary school boarding schools.
Bed-nets, health check ups and emergency assistance to vulnerable children and their households to reduce malaria related absence.
Books, school uniforms and sanitary products for girls to support their re-entry into school and reduce menstruation related absence.
Gender Based Violence awareness raising in communities.
Safe spaces in schools for peer-to-peer learning and support.
Regular parenting workships for parents and guardians of OVC.
Rural family based foster care for vulnerable girls.
Burseries and student loans for OVC to attend vocational training colleges and universities.
Community Service Programme for secondary school leavers providing work experience and encouraging social responsibility and volunteering.
Careers advice and practice life-skill guidance to young people.
"In 2007, while I was in Class 7, The Mango Tree started working in our area, including my village. The Mango Tree provided me with school uniforms, social worker visits and regular health check- ups. When I got sick they provided me with medicine and paid for hospital appointments. These were things that my grandmother could never afford."