Nurturing Minds, Inc.
Transforming lives and communities by educating and empowering Tanzanian girls
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world and only 30% of girls attend secondary school. Poverty forces many girls to drop out of school resulting in early marriage and teen pregnancy. Tanzania has one of the world’s highest teenage marriages rates with 37% of girls marrying before the age of 18 and teen pregnancy rates with 121 births per 1,000 girls age 15-19. A striking body of evidence demonstrates that educating and empowering girls to realize their full potential may be the most powerful way to break the cycle of poverty and create prosperity. And yet, across the developing world, girls are consistently marginalized and undervalued. Education beyond primary school is often out of the question for those living in poverty, regardless of their previous academic performance or desire to learn. In families in which funds are limited, boys are usually educated before girls, as the boys are expected to make a long-term economic contribution back to their families.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
The SEGA Girls' School
The SEGA (Secondary Education for Girls Advancement) Girls’ School is a residential secondary school for bright, motivated Tanzanian girls who otherwise would be unable to attend school due to extreme poverty or hardship. Housing over 260 students, SEGA uses a holistic approach to education which includes an academically challenging Tanzanian curriculum, entrepreneurship development, and a comprehensive life skills and leadership program.
The Modern Girl Community Outreach Program
The Modern Girl program trains SEGA graduates as mentors to go back into their home communities to teach life skills including reproductive health, communication skills and human rights to girls ages 10 - 18. The program is designed to educate communities about the negative outcomes of early marriage and teen pregnancy, which are two of the leading reasons why girls drop out of school in Tanzania. This program reached over 900 girls in 20 communities this year.
Continuing Education Scholarships
Exam results help determine if a student will continue her education or begin a career. Most recently, 100 percent of SEGA students passed their national exams, in comparison to the 70 percent national average pass rate. In addition, 100 percent of our students score well enough to pursue higher education. Graduating students are able to apply for SEGA’s Continuing Education Scholarship Fund which is essential for them to attend the higher education opportunities for which they qualify.
Continuing Education Options (funded by SEGA Scholarships)
• A small number of University degrees
• Advanced Level High School – the highest scoring students will apply to A-Level, university-track high schools
• One and Two year junior colleges (certificates and diploma programs) help prepare SEGA graduates to be teachers, accountants, NGO managers, nurses and administrators
• Internships provide “on the job” training in a variety of work settings
• Job placement and assistance with developing a curriculum vitae, interview skills, and
• Entrepreneurship support helping students to create a business plan for self-employment
One of our most important goals at SEGA is to empower girls and give them the tools to pursue careers and dreams that otherwise would not be possible.
Where we work
Awards
External reviews
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of alumnae who transition to continuing education programs after graduating from Form IV
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, People of African descent, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
The SEGA Girls' School
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2022: 68 graduates is 100% of the Class of 2022.
Number of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, People of African descent, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
The SEGA Girls' School
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
SEGA has reached maximum capacity at 280 students.
Number of students who dropped out of SEGA this year
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, People of African descent, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
The SEGA Girls' School
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Number of students who repeated their grade this year
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, People of African descent, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
The SEGA Girls' School
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Number of standard 7 students who transitioned to Form I this year
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, People of African descent, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
The SEGA Girls' School
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
100% of SEGA's 2018 26 standard 7 students passed their national exam and transitioned to Form I. As of 2019, SEGA no longer operates a Standard 7 program on campus.
Number of SEGA’s Form 4 students who passed the national exam
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, People of African descent, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
The SEGA Girls' School
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2022: 66 (97%) of Form 4 students passed their national exams to graduate from secondary school, compared to 70% nationally.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
A quality education provided by the SEGA (Secondary Education for Girls’ Advancement) Girls’ School. With a 98-100% pass rate and a 98% retention rate, an education from SEGA leads to continuing education, future employment, and ultimately an increased standard of living which includes improved healthcare, food security, and housing. Our Aim is that SEGA will continue to educate 300 girls on campus each year, while reaching 2,000 girls in 25 communities throughout Tanzania through our Modern Girl community outreach program, and that SEGA continues to work toward its goal of self-sustainability.
Nurturing Minds' long term strategic plan includes initiatives to support the school in attaining self-sufficiency, including taking on a second stream of paying students and the development of an endowment.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Continuing the diverse and stimulating programs that have become a regular part of the SEGA Girls' School – academics, counseling, life skills and human development programs, community outreach, career counseling and entrepreneurship classes and clubs.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The School has professional educators and volunteers on staff to make sure that the entrepreneurship program and English is a priority on campus. There is a team of people who work with Nurturing Minds to promote, expand and fund the Continuing Education Scholarship program.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
98-100% pass rate on national exams compared to 70% nationally.
300 students educated at SEGA every academic year.
146 graduates enrolled in continuing education programs supported by SEGA scholarships.
100% of graduates go on to continuing education.
2,000 girls educated through our Modern Girl Community Outreach Program
The environmentally sustainable 30-acre campus has 22 solar-powered buildings, including a computer suite and renewable water supply that includes a rainwater capture system.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Nurturing Minds, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 08/22/2023
Mr. Rod Kirsch
Ms. Jane Juma-Nyamunga
Pauline T Dolan
L Clarke Blynn
Tracey L Dolan
Juma Said Ally
Laura DeDominicis
Nurturing Minds, Inc.
Kendall Webb
Marion Ballard
Elizabeth (Betsy) Crawford
Annie de Cossy-Forsyth
Susan Hannah
Rodney Kirsch
Angela McManus
Jane Nyamunga
Catherine Flint
Amanda Opinsky
Sherley Young
Cathy Connolly
Sarah Hewitt
Susan Schneider
Pam Buell
Rukia Marijani Mchumo
Lindah Mhando
Sherita Paiman
Clare Reilly
Anna Temu
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/22/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.