Guest speaker – Sharon Daishe
Topic – Orkeeswa Global Grant OpposrtunitieOrkeeswa School overlooks vast African plains in a remote part of Northern Tanzania -home to the noble Maasai people. Tanzania experience very high level of poverty and small number of students are able to go to secondary school. Only very few girls are able to go to secondary school before getting married as well. Perpetration of poverty in Tanzania is mainly due to lack of education.
Sharon’s involvement in Orkeeswa Secondary school began while she was living in NSW. Sharon was contacted by two young Americans who has made an association with the village and want to establish a school. Sharon travelled to Tanzania with her knowledge and skills in the field of governance and saw the birth of Orkeeswa School.
Orkeeswa Secondary School provides a high quality education to students who would otherwise never be able to afford to attend secondary school. Students at Orkeeswa share their education with their families and they are returning to teach and volunteer in their community.
Later on, Sharon moved to Yalgoo as the CEO of local government in Western Australia and joined the Rotary Club of Geraldton. Then President Di Gilleland urged the club to sponsor Orkeeswa as its first international project. In 2013 Sharon led a group of ten to visit Orkeeswa.
Rotary Club of Geraldton subsequently raised funds to build new library building and purchased a land cruiser, which provided safe transport for girls and helped to increase women’s participation on after school projects.
Sharon is exploring the possibility of applying for a Rotary Global Grant to continue to further assist Orkeeswa school.
