The Tara Project aims to improve access to health, education, and enterprise for chronically poor communities through empowering them and fostering self-sufficiency. Their first local community project focuses on promoting girls' education in Kenya by reducing barriers to school attendance and retention through initiatives like providing uniforms, skills training, and improved sanitation. The timeline outlines launching the girls' education project in June 2010, conducting initial evaluations in December 2010, and modifying the program based on findings before further evaluations in June 2011.

1. The TARA Project
Empowering Communities.
Ending Poverty.

2. The Tara Project Mission
The Tara Project improves
access to health, education and
enterprise for chronically poor
communities.
We foster an environment of
equals where an exchange of
ideas and resources creates a
sustainable, prosperous future.

3. The Tara Project Vision
Success is sustainable independence
and a higher quality of life where at
minimum, basic needs are met
including:
• safe housing
• adequate, healthy food supply
• income opportunities sufficient to
ensure health care, education and
security.

5. Why We’re Different
We build a partnership with our communities
based on respect and equality that includes:
• Community, not donor, driven projects
• Capacity building including business and
leadership skills
• Expectation that communities want to and
will be self-sufficient after initial project
support
• Continued relationship with communities as
part of the Tara family year-after-year
• Leveraging community leaders expertise and
experience when working with new
communities

6. Our Community Focus

7. Our Community Focus
• Impoverished
• Lacks access to
opportunities
• Ready for change
• International or
Domestic

8. Our Community Focus
• Multinational
corporations or large
businesses
• Doing business in or
around target
communities
• Open to creating
profitable, equitable &
ethical local
partnerships

9. Our Community Focus
• Individual investors or
philanthropic
organizations
• Invested in
communities and
projects

10. Our First Local Community
Kojwach Location in Kenya’s Nyanza Province

11. Our First Project: Girls Education
Percentage of Girls
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Primary Enrolment Secondary Secondary
Enrolment Attendance

12. Girls Education
Education is a basic right. It is more
than reading and writing, education
is empowerment to:
• Choose the size of families
• Reduce infant, child & maternal
mortality
• Have better job and earning
opportunities
• Be healthier
• Ensure a brighter future for the
next generation

13. Girls Education
Over the course of three months in
2009, speaking with 138 people we
found that girls were more likely to
drop out of school because of :
Lack of access to basic needs and
adequate hygiene which leads to:
• Risky relationships with older
men
• Unplanned pregnancy and early
marriage

14. Girls Education
The Solution: Promote girls
education in Kenya by reducing
barriers to attendance and retention
• Provide shoes and new school
uniforms every 18 months
• Skills training
• Improved sanitation
infrastructure at schools
• Peer education training
• Scholarship “bank”

15. Girls Education
The Timeline:
• December 2009: Field preparation
and detailed project development
• June 2010: Launch project
• December 2010: Initial Evaluation
• January 2011: Program
modifications based on evaluation
findings.
• June 2011: 1st Year Program
Evaluations

16. How You Can Help
• Immediate needs: $10K for December
Field Preparation
• Bring your kids to our ornament events
• Skilled volunteers: Website coder, Flash
Designer
• Hosting Parties
• Tell a Friend!

17. For More Information
• www.TaraProject.org
• Facebook Group

18. Thank you!