Empowering the disadvantaged girl child through education was the message that went out when the WAMA Sharaf Secondary School in the United Republic of Tanzania was inaugurated recently. The charity school was opened in the presence of the President Jakaya Kikwete and First Lady Mama Salma Kikwete and with the attendance of Ibrahim Sharaf and Sharafuddin Sharaf, owners of the Sharaf Group, Dubai. The school is located in Lindi, approximately 450 kms from Dar es Salaam, the capital of the country. It has been built in cooperation with WAMA Foundation – an NGO in Dar es Salaam, and the Sharaf Group, Dubai. The school is dedicated to needy and destitute children who are often deprived of basic education in Tanzania. It will accommodate approximately 500 pupils and is equipped with all basic amenities such as an IT Center with 50 computers. It boasts other facilities like dormitories, library and laboratories. The built-up area of the school is about 45,000 sq.ft. In her speech, Mama Salma Kikwete expressed her heartfelt appreciation to Ibrahim Sharaf and Sharafuddin Sharaf for their great donation in the construction of the school. "In 2006, we created a Foundation named Women and Development (WAMA) Foundation with a goal of increasing access to health services, girl child's education and women's welfare," she said. "We focused on promoting access to quality secondary education for children from vulnerable environments, including orphans. Our aim was to provide Life Skills Program to deprived youth as well as empower women economically. "The WAMA Sharaf School increases the number of model schools that aim at supporting girl children who are orphans and come from vulnerable backgrounds. The school will help them improve their status and help them achieve their goals." In his speech Sharafuddin Sharaf, while thanking the president and first lady, said "This girls' school is about tackling the unfairness of gender inequality. Building such a school is simply the right thing to do. It is one of the best investments any society can make for it is only by supporting inclusive education, where boys and girls have equal opportunity, that we can build balanced societies, where everyone has genuine opportunities limited only by their individual talent." "We partnered with WAMA because of their record of building and administering schools for girls. In our Group, we support many projects; we build dispensaries, water wells, and other social services. But the long-term solution for so many of the world's challenges is education. Education can bring lifelong prosperity; it is the foundation of knowledge and skills, health and nutrition, science and technology. Education must remain the number one priority for all of us, for our children and for the world. "Our support and contribution to Tanzania is another testimony of the fruitful relationship between Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates under the visionary leadership of President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Defense. They have made the relations between the people, governments and leaders of Tanzania and the UAE a priority." The WAMA Sharaf Secondary School has been built keeping in mind the Sharaf Group's CSR aims and is in line with the UAE's drive to bolster literacy around the globe, he added. The Sharaf Group is a highly diversified business entity with operations in the areas of Shipping, Logistics, Supply Chain, Retail, Travel and Tourism, Information Technology, Financial Services, Hospitality, Real Estate, Education and Manufacturing. The Group also has been handling business in Tanzania for over 16 years. The oldest entity "Diamond Shipping Services Ltd" was incorporated on June 6 2000. — SG
