Lighthouse Support Foundation is a Small Private Initiative and was officially registered in 2019. Ellen van de Velde, together with René Hauser, Marleen Rijneveld and Marijn Bent initiated this. Ellen's wish to be able to help people in Tanzania Africa who need attention, funding, education or goods started the process of setting up this foundation.

The foundation aims towards sustainable projects but is also open to small donations that can relieve suffering. For example a donation in food or towards a hospital bill. Preferably though projects with a longer effect, that promote self sufficiency of the individual or long lasting quality improvement. This can be within education or healthcare. For this, cooperation with local stakeholders is a wish to be able to use everyones expertise.

The support of the foundation is mainly in The Netherlands but works from within Tanzania to find projects, put them in words and plans. Funds will be gathered in The Netherlands, but also possibilities will be explored to get local budgets available for the projects.

The foundation aims to find funding (money and goods) to be able to achieve the following goals:

• to offer help to people in Tanzania Africa on project basis as well as incidentally according to a request for help or found lack of resources
• supporting healthcare in Tanzania aiming to improve quality of care by donating funds or goods but most of all by development of knowledge and anchoring into care. Also establishing relations with (international) organisations that can contribute in this
• create awareness to people outside of Tanzania that these people need help
• supporting others with a similar aim
  as well as everything that is connected to the previously mentioned in any way or which can be beneficial

The foundation is non profit and the members do not get paid in any way for their work

Strategy and realisation of the goal

The strategy of Lighthouse Support Foundation is to establish the biggest issues/needs via known contacts in Tanzania. This will be put in writing to create insight in the problem and the direction of the solution in The Netherlands. If the board decides to support the project, a plan will be made. Following to this, information will be shared through information channels (website and other correspondence). Attempts will be made to generate funds. Herewith, support can be given in Tanzania.

Donations

Because Lighthouse Support Foundation is an ANBI and also likes to share insight in expenses, donations and expenses will be clearly shown on this website in a specific section.

Projects

Projects will be gathered in Tanzania with local contacts. After that the board decides about which projects will be allocated. Small projects however can be executed as long as these projects are not exceeding the amount of 50 Euro and not more than twice a month. These may be to pay a meal, a hospital bill or school fees. This kind of support should be an exception and not a rule.

Grotere projecten zoals een onderzoek naar de mogelijkheden van een watervoorziening of een kwaliteitsverbetering in een ziekenhuis zijn langdurig van aard en dienen duurzaam te zijn. De lopende projecten alsmede de projecten die voltooid zijn worden vermeld op de website www.lighthousesupport.nl op een speciaal daaraan gewijde pagina.

Criteria for the board concerning projects

The board assesses projects according to the following criteria:

• feasability
• support base
• potency
• potentie
• cost-benefit analysis
• fits ideas of Lighthouse Support

The majority of the board needs to agree with the plan.

Organisation

The board needs addition of at least two people at the moment the yearly budget exceeds 50.000 Euro. The board needs to be uneven in people at any moment in time.

Financing and budget

No large amount of money is built up. There will be a minimal financial reserve, created among others by the support of students that do their internship in Tanzania. Of this money, unforeseen donations (outside of chosen projects) can be covered. Money from donations will be spent immediately in Tanzania.

There is no specific area of spenditure. All donations will be elected according to what the board thinks are the greatest needs.

There is no yearly budget for donations. All money received will be spent in Tanzania on projects. Received goods will be transported to Tanzania or sold. Received money will be considered donations.

Members of the board do not receive any payment for their activities. They can receive payment of expenses based on money actually spent on a project.

Asset management

The -small- asset of Lighthouse Support Foundation will be put into a bank account. Money that temporary is not used, is in that account waiting for the moment that it will actually be used for a specific project. The whole amount is freely available for projects. The assets of the foundation need to be available directly if a projects requires this. Therefor it will not be put into deposits but only on a bank account. There is no investment status.

The following projects will be presented to the board and decisions will be made which projects will be funded or which order will be kept. Also it may be decided to gather sponsors per project (sponsor can decide which project gets his support). The board needs to express their support about every project. For each project budgets need to be designed.

Palliative care Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital

A conclusion after research in this hospital is, that education in this field is urgently required. Every year about 1500 people die in this hospital of which maybe 1000 need palliative care. To die in the hospital is an ordeal because pain is not controlled, various interventions are carried out to save people (for example blood transfusion, IV fluids, antibiotics etc.). In this way the bill for the family is getting higher (people mostly dont have an insurance) and this does not help the patient.

Er is een palliatief team waarvan Ellen deel zal gaan uitmaken in de vorm van een ondersteunende rol. Het is echter voorwaarde, dat basiskennis aanwezig is bij zoveel mogelijk personeelsleden zodat beleid kan worden begrepen en goed uitgevoerd.

Palliative care does not need to be expensive and could possibly reduce the costs for the hospital and the family of the patient. Therefor means will be available for other people that need them. By leaving out unnecessary interventions costs can be saved. By transferring patients to palliative care teams, less people will die in the hospital. General health of the hospital will increase for people who can be cured.

Het palliatief team heeft in 2020 een plan geschreven, waarin zij haar doelen tot verbetering van deze zorg in Mount Meru RR Hospital beschrijft. Naar aanleiding daarvan zullen budgetten worden opgesteld door de ziekenhuissecretaris. De hulpvraag van het team zal worden bezien door het bestuur van Lighthouse Support om te bepalen of en hoe de palliatieve zorg vooruit kan worden geholpen.

Chimneys for Maasai huts

Maasai huts are built without a chimney but cooking is inside on open fire. You can imagine there will be a cloud of smoke. Not healthy for people's lungs. With a simple chimney the problem would be solved for a major part. This does not cost a lot of money but it is unknown. By placing a number of chimneys on huts, the goal is for more people to apply one. The idea is that less people will have health issues because of smoke, especially small children have lung-problems caused by dust and smoke.

In 2020 is hieraan nog geen aandacht besteed. In 2021 kan hieraan alsnog aandacht worden besteed.

Bridal dresses for Nkoaranga

De afgelopen tijd heeft Ellen met haar studenten een aantal bruidsjurken in Tanzania kunnen krijgen naast de bestaande collectie van het team. De bedoeling is dat de bruidsjurken zullen worden verhuurd of verkocht. Het geld dat daarmee wordt verkregen kan gebruikt worden door het palliatieve team van Nkoaranga. Zij verlenen thuiszorg bij palliatieve patiënten. Het team verleent holistische zorg, wat wil zeggen dat er naast naar de zieke ook naar het gezin wordt gekeken. Er wordt naar alternatieve inkomsten gezocht als de zieke de kostwinner blijkt te zijn of aan andere sociale problemen (zoals bijvoorbeeld stigma bij HIV/Aids wordt aandacht besteed.  Er wordt gekeken naar psychische problemen, enzovoort.

Naar aanleiding van de evaluatie in 2020, onderzoekt het palliatief team of er mogelijkheden zijn om een winkel te openen in Tengeru. Hier komen op tweewekelijkse marktdagen veel mensen bij elkaar die de jurken zouden kunnen zien. Wanneer het team een begroting heeft gemaakt en een hulpvraag geformuleerd zal het bestuur hierover een beslissing nemen.

Exchange with Tanzania Support

With Tanzania Support Foundation contacts are made that make it possible to exchange knowledge and experiences. If Ellen is in Tanzania, she is available to carry out assistance for this foundation if wanted. The foundation is active in Maasai community in the area of Selela and Mbaash (via Mto wa Mbu) which is a couple of hours from Arusha. The projects of Tanzania Support that have done well could maybe be copied to the area of Mshie close to Mererani.

In 2020 is een bezoek afgelegd aan het project in Mbaash door Ellen. Tanzania Support blijft geïnteresseerd in samenwerking.

Maasai kinderen krijgen een kans op goed onderwijs

Vele overheidsscholen geven slecht onderwijs. Hierdoor hebben kinderen die hiervan afhankelijk zijn een slecht toekomstperspectief. De ouders zijn niet in staat om beter onderwijs te bekostigen. Voor twee Maasai kinderen is een sponsor gevonden voor 5 jaar die het schoolgeld betaalt. De kinderen gaat dit jaar voor het eerst gesponsord naar Dinka School vlak buiten Arusha. Zij maken gebruik van de kostschool omdat elke school met goed onderwijs ver uit de buurt is van hun woonplaats.

In 2021 wil het stichtingsbestuur monitoren hoe het met de kinderen gaat en aandacht houden voor de thuissituatie waarvan zij zouden kunnen vervreemden omdat het verschil met kostschool en thuis aanzienlijk zijn.