International: The Somalia Tanzania

Welcome to Tanzania, East Africa!

Introduction: A country known for its vast wilderness areas, including the Serengeti National Park and Kilimanjaro National Park, Africa’s with Africa’s highest mountain. Also, the offshore tropical/spice islands of Zanzibar and Maafia and its Marine Park home to whale sharks and coral reefs. It is known as the ‘birthing region’ for the earliest humans.

First, PPEP Started in Tanzania when it sent a cargo container with medical supplies and five doctors to Lobongo, Tanzania, under the leadership of board member Michael Johnson. This was for six weeks to provide medical services and distribute medical supplies from the container. Upon returning, it was brought to the attention of PPEP that there was no maternity ward for the Lobongo Region. This is when PPEP decided to become involved officially and provided stipends and building materials for the area’s first maternity ward.

PPEP Inc. enlisted the local youth in the building project, which was of superb quality and had ample space to meet maternity needs. Subsequently, Dr. John David Arnold, PPEP CEO, went to Tanzania in December 2023 to dedicate the maternity ward and consult with local communities about their priorities. He also made initial contact with local colleges and universities.  

The second area of concern has been that of the unemployed youth with no activities, which is contributing a lot to the drug problems. In other countries in Africa, soccer and volleyball have a video to help reverse this negative trend and put young lives in a positive mode. Four soccer teams have been organized into a league as the first venture in the sporting area. So far, there have been very successful outcomes and good community support.

The third area of interest has been in organic farming. In Zanzibar, we have Summit University, which provides farmland, and we set up an organic farm operated by the students.

The fourth area of interest is supporting a micro business where we have supported a young woman who has assembled a remarkable skincare product company using natural products from the sea and locally grown spices. Also, we formed a construction team of some 25 young people who had been working in the maternity ward to form a construction company. Their first formal job was to renovate a youth center that had been partially burned. They worked on additional renovation projects in Outland and open their own construction business.

The fifth area of involvement has been with the local universities to address the universal concern about the loss of language and culture. We have now organized the first conference in Africa on December 16 through the 18th at the Jordan University in Morogoro to address this critical issue. This venue is supported by a coalition of seven Tanzanian universities supported by PPEP as the sponsor. We are addressing this issue by inviting scholars, local chiefs, government ministries, and students with career paths to these issues.

The outcome is to present a global awareness of the critical issue of addressing the loss of culture and languages among many societies.

In the sixth area, we have developed a relationship with Chief Kinjaru as they attempt to preserve their ancient kingdom’s culture and history.

Furthermore, a special relationship has also been designed with the Lobongo Massai Tribe. Through sports and a watershed project, they bring water to their cattle during the dry season, which is their livelihood. Tanzania has demonstrated it can carry out complex projects, sports venues, micro-businesses, and organic farming, including organizing academia with six universities to put on one of the most important forums addressing the preservation of language and culture.

Therefore, we are excited about Tanzania’s future as it defines and carries out its visions and develops successful methodologies for improving the quality of rural life. All this happened in the first year, starting December 20, 2023, through November 30, 2024, and beyond. Photographs are attached.