About Us

Peace by Piece, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides aid to orphaned and vulnerable children in developing countries, with current efforts focused in Tanzania, Africa.  It is our hope that by providing education, nourishment, shelter and clothing; we will build better lives for these children and take a small step towards eradicating poverty, peace by piece…

 

Our Story

 

The idea for Peace by Piece originated in 2010 following a life-changing trip to Tanzania.  I was fortunate to spend 3 months teaching and volunteering at a small orphanage and  primary school in a rural village outside of Arusha.  It was during that trip that my eyes and ultimately my heart were opened to another world; a world where children are lucky if they have three meals a day, are privileged to have one pair of shoes and one change of clothing.  It’s a place where it is the exception, not the rule, for a child to be educated beyond the 7th grade.  Yet these children work just as hard, love just as much and dream just as big as the children in our own community.  Mery, at 8 years old, told me that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.  Maria, 6, wants to be a pilot; Editha, 7, a nurse. 

During my time in Tanzania, I learned that when the children finish primary school (7th grade), they would age out of the orphanage, essentially ending their education as secondary school in Tanzania is not free. While significant progress was made by the Tanzanian government in 2016, eliminating school fees for the first 4 years of secondary school, the costs of uniforms, school supplies, text books, lunches and additional required contributions continue to make school unaffordable for many.  At 12 years old, the same age that I was just starting to daydream about the many possibilities of what I wanted to be when I grow up, these children would be released into the world as adults to work and support not only themselves, but often their younger siblings as well.

Tanzania, like many other African countries is facing a poverty epidemic, as 49% of the population lives below the international poverty line of $1.90(a). It is our belief that one of the primary contributors to the country’s poverty is the lack of access to quality education. Only 23% of Tanzanian children attend early secondary school, equivalent to middle school in the United States(b).  Attendance rates drop further beyond middle school with only 3% of students enrolling in high school(b).  The remaining children who do not attend secondary school are faced with limited employment options. Often these children are destined to work on family farms (80% of Tanzanian households depend on agriculture as their primary economic activity(c)) for a meager existence, as they are not skilled or trained to pursue other opportunities. If orphaned, even this option is nonexistent.  Additionally, lack of education contributes to other social issues such as high fertility rates, which add to the vicious poverty cycle. Tanzanian women with no formal education average 6.9 births(d), ranking Tanzania 12th amongst the countries with the world’s highest fertility rates(e). Statistics show that education is an effective tool to fight this epidemic. For example, when women are provided secondary school education, studies report that fertility rates are reduced by 54% to 3.2 births per woman(d)

Upon the realization that too many of these amazing and incredibly bright children would not have the opportunities they deserve, the idea for Peace by Piece (PbP) was born.  The mission of PbP includes providing the infrastructure and scholarships necessary for orphaned and/or vulnerable children to continue their education at the secondary school level.  We hope to turn their dreams of becoming teachers, pilots and nurses into a reality.

A return to Tanzania laid the foundation for the Peace by Piece scholarship program and for obtaining 501(c)3 status.  We researched the Tanzanian school system, visited schools and created a list ranking schools with the highest quality education at the best cost. We networked, reaching out to other NGOs working in Arusha, potential sponsors and anyone willing to hear our story. We raised money to fund our project.  

In January 2015, eleven students entered the Peace by Piece scholarship program. Four of these students were orphaned and required a boarding program in order to continue their education.  They all excelled on the rigorous private school entrance exams and Peace by Peace was able to procure sponsors to send these students to Edmund Rice Secondary School, a boarding school in Arusha.  Seven extremely bright students also had the opportunity to attend Nkoarisambu Secondary School on Mt. Meru as day-students. 

91 students have joined our program since that first class in 2015.  Peace by Piece scholarships are academic and need based and candidates are determined with input from the administrative staff at local primary schools and orphanages, as well as headmasters at government secondary schools and private boarding schools. All schools are visited by PbP board members and correspondence is frequent and regular.   It is our hope that we can build a better foundation for life for these children and take small steps toward eradicating poverty, peace by piece.  We would love for you to take this journey along with us. Together, we can build brighter futures.

Peace and love,

Susan                                                                                                                                                                  

Our Team:

 Susan Carlson, Co-founder and Director:  Susan is a speech language pathologist in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The time she spent working with children in Tanzania sparked the idea for Peace by Piece. Susan can be reached at PbPAfrica@gmail.com

 Chad Carlson, Co-founder, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer:  Chad is a graduate of Harvard Business School and is currently working as a Senior Vice President of a real estate and investment firm in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Chad and Susan started Peace by Piece after a trip to Tanzania in 2009. 

 Madeleine Hallum, Secretary:  Madeleine is a registered dietitian as well as a talented artist.  She currently resides in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Madeleine spent 5 months teaching and volunteering in Arusha, Tanzania in 2009 and is one of the initial members of the board of directors.

Johanna Hemmingsson: Johanna worked as a project manager at an orphanage/primary school in a rural village in Tanzania in 2008-2009. She has also worked for an NGO in Indonesia combatting child trafficking and child sex tourism. Johanna is originally from Sweden, but currently lives in Perth where she studies law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Joanne "JoJo" Howard: JoJo volunteered in Tanzania in 2009 and has since taken regular trips back to the country.   She resides in Hawaii and is founder and director of Gone Surfing Hawaii which provides small group and private surfing lessons. 

 

Financial Statements

 

IRS Determination Letter

 

“Peace is no mere matter of men fighting or not fighting. Peace, to have meaning for many who have known only suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health, and education, as well as freedom and human dignity - a steadily better life. If peace is to be secure, long-suffering and long-starved, forgotten peoples of the world, the underprivileged and the undernourished, must begin to realize without delay the promise of a new day and a new life.

-Ralph J. Bunche, 1950 Nobel Peace Prize winner

 

(a) World Bank: Poverty & Equity Brief, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania, October 2019 (using HBS/SSAPOV/GMD)
(b) Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey (TDHS-MIS) 2015–16
(c) The World Bank - Tanzania: Country Brief
(d) The United Republic of Tanzania, National Population Policy, Ministry of Planning, Economy and Empowerment, 2006
(e) The World Bank – Fertility Rate, Total, 2019