«Where little pearls have a big impact.»

- Sara Schälchli
Director & Project Manager

Since 2012, Sara Schälchli has been visiting the barren yet enchanting region around Naiborgosso in northern Tanzania to experience the remoteness and colourful Maasai culture. She developed friendships with local families. After completing her Master's degree in Human Geography at the University of Zurich in February 2019, she decided to channel her energy into a social project with the local population. The aim was to help Maasai women achieve more self-determination.

This project gave rise to “Engoitoi Epuan”, a project close to her heart. The projects reflect Sara's inner desire for a world where quality of life, equal rights and individual freedom are a matter of course for everyone. With the “Engoitoi Epuan” project, she is committed to these values.

Whether project leader, participant, employee, supporter, buyer or purchaser - it takes all of us to contribute to a sustainable future for the current and next generation of the local population.

Her role at the “Engoitoi Epuan” association and the international NGO of the same name in Tanzania is to ensure the sustainable development of the two projects in Naiborgosso and near Arusha respectively. She is project manager of the glass bead project in Naiborgosso and headmistress of the tailoring school near Arusha. In order to fulfil these obligations conscientiously, Sara lives in Tanzania for between 4 and 9 months a year.

During her stays in Switzerland, she is responsible for public relations, sales, bookkeeping and fundraising for the organisation.

Chairman

Ueli Schälchli

Certified river engineer

Member of the Board

Ursula Schudel-Schmid,

Primary school & handicraft teacher

The project coordinator “Kasino” is the contact person for all matters relating to the glass bead project in Naiborgosso. He coordinates the purchase of raw materials, transport and communication with the project management. Together with the three project participants Nasumbat, Nema and Nalamala, he is responsible for the successful manufacture of the products.

«We are so happy to have this project. We've never done anything like this before.»

Nema

Ordering manager

Nasumbat

Glass bead manager

Nalamala

Quality controller

The housemother Juliana studied community development at St Joseph College in Tanzania and successfully graduated in 2016. She then taught at various residential schools.

At our school, Juliana is the contact person for the pupils and, in the absence of the head teacher, for the teaching staff. Together with the assistant cook or the pupils, she looks after the culinary well-being. She supervises the daily routines (keeping the premises and surroundings clean) and coordinates the food shopping. She also lives on the school campus with her husband and two children. This geographical proximity allows her to ensure the sustainable running of the school and the well-being of the pupils seven days a week.

«My dream is to support young women who come from difficult backgrounds on their journey through life. This is exactly what I do with my work!»

Robert, an assistant cook and driver, lives near the school with his wife and two sons. He completed primary school in ... and then earned his living as an unskilled labourer on building sites. He was also part of the team building the tailoring school from the very beginning. As we were impressed by his calm and reliable manner, the school management offered him a slightly different job after the construction work was completed: Assistant cook and motorbike driver. He was open to exploring new avenues and accepted.

His duties include cooking together with the housemother, leading the pupils in cooking (at lunchtime at the weekend) and picking up and dropping off the teachers from the bus station to school and vice versa. He also does the grocery shopping and acts as a stand-in for any personal or material transport.

The night watchman - Kasosi

Our gardener, Consolata, grew up in Kenya and successfully completed secondary school. However, she was then unable to continue her studies or learn a trade as her parents lacked the financial means. So she finally got married and moved to Tanzania to live with her husband. Together they had six children and took in another three children left behind by her deceased sister.

At Engoitoi Epuan, Consolata lovingly looks after the area surrounding the tailoring school. She cuts hedges, weeds, plants flowers, lawns and (fruit) trees and waters sensitive plants during the dry months. She also tends an organic field and school garden together with the pupils.

«My work at Engoitoi Epuan helps me to provide my children and foster children with an education. I am very grateful for that.»

Mum Suzy lives with her husband near Arusha. Together they have five children who are either already leading independent lives or studying at university. It is very important to them to provide their children with a higher education in order to optimally prepare them for their future independent lives.

Mama Suzy and the project management had already been working together for a good two years before the tailoring school opened. This resulted in trust and friendship. At the school, Mama Suzy teaches the first-semester students two to three days a week. She teaches them how to sew different accessories. These include zip bags, carrier bags, purses, bum bags and school rucksacks.

«The NGO Engoitoi Epuan brings many benefits to the local community. It not only empowers young women to realise their own goals, but also gives us employees the chance to earn a regular and fair salary to enable us and our children to lead a better life.»

After successfully completing her first year of secondary school, Mama Angel's father refused to continue paying for her school fees. She therefore returned home and helped her mother with the housework. She made a great effort to save up money to enable her daughter to do an apprenticeship. In 2012, Mama Angel began her training as a seamstress and then worked together with Mama Suzy. Today she is self-employed, runs her own studio and lives with her husband and three children near Arusha.

Mama Angel is an integral part of the teaching team at our school. She teaches the first semester students two to three days a week. She teaches them how to sew children's and women's clothing. This includes, for example: various skirts, dresses, blouses, school uniforms and leggings.

«I used to dream of becoming a secondary school teacher. Because my father refused to allow me to go to school, my dreams remained unfulfilled. Now I can live my dream - as a sewing teacher!»

After completing secondary school, Daines began to study community development, but had to drop out due to insufficient funds. She was then lucky enough to get a training place to learn natural leather tanning and processing as well as glass bead decorating at the NGO “Oikos”. She successfully completed her training in 2017. Since then, she has been living and working in Arusha, where she creates and sews various leather accessories in a shared studio. She is also the single mother of a son.

Daines teaches at the Engoitoi Epuan tailoring school for three months in the first semester and one day a week for two months in the second semester. She teaches the students how to embroider fabric and leather goods with glass beads and how to process leather into accessories such as dog collars or handbags.