::The Organisation

Maarifa, as we are generally known, is a Tanzanian NGO, initiated in late 1998 and registered formally in March 1999. We advocate for equitable accessible, affordable good quality education, which is ethically managed, promotes social integration, and develops citizens with the capacity and motivation to address problems of ignorance and poverty.
We believe that national development is a process of change, which affects everyone. To equitably involve all people in the process, Maarifa provides information and promotes education which:
Develops critical awareness of personal, local and national development
Encourages participation in decision making at all levels of society
Challenges attitudes and structures, inside and outside the country, which contribute to poverty, inequality and injustice
Specifically this involves:

• Education research and advocacy work
• Being the secretariat of TEN/MET (Tanzania Education Network/Mtandao wa Elimu Tanzania), a network of NGOs and CBOs working in the education sector.
• Coordinating the input from Education sector NGOs into the process of obtaining debt relief in Tanzania, and monitoring how it is spent.
• Collecting, analysing and disseminating information.
• Offering training and capacity development inputs other organisations as a means of generating income, and of forwarding our own work by enabling other organisations to learn the lessons of our ways of working.

::Organisational Set-up

We are well placed to carry out the above work because:

• We have staff with skills in education policy analysis and in advocacy
• We have staff with skills in participatory research, appraisal and planning.
• Our internal organisation promotes the capacity building and growth of staff and supporters by drawing on their different experiences and skills in a non-hierarchical way.
• We are accountable to a Board of Directors, which meets approximately every 2 months to advise on the direction and focus of our work.

We work with a core staff of 3 people: An Executive Director, a programme officer and an accountant. We will shortly be in a position to employ two additional staff members linked to project work in Early Childhood Care and Development.
We also frequently call on the services of associates and volunteers to assist us meet the demand for the work we do.

::Our Vision

Maarifa works to make a difference locally, nationally and internationally. We are developing as an organisation, with projects which focus on the most needy groups in society, public awareness and advocacy.
Maarifa advocates for equitable accessible, affordable good quality education, which is ethically managed, promotes social integration, and develops citizens with the capacity and motivation to address problems of ignorance and poverty.

::Our Mission Statement

Development is a process of change. It affects everyone, so everyone needs to be equitably involved. Maarifa aims to provide information and promote education which:

• Develops critical awareness of personal, local and national and international development.
• Encourages participation in decision making at all levels of society.
• Challenges attitudes and structures, inside and outside the country, which contribute to poverty, inequality and injustice.