Tanzania
In June 2023, the Foundation taught at the LOHADA orphanage in Tanzania alongside James Juma — a former student of co-founder Chuck Eesley who built the connection — and Abisola, a former Stanford PhD student who co-taught. The Foundation also raised funds for a tractor for the orphanage.
The Foundation’s Tanzania program came through one of co-founder Chuck Eesley’s former students. James Juma had completed Chuck’s classes years before and stayed in touch. When he proposed a teaching trip to LOHADA, an orphanage in Tanzania, the Foundation said yes — and James helped organize everything on the ground.
In June 2023, Lijie and Chuck traveled to LOHADA together with Abisola Kusimo, a Stanford Mechanical Engineering PhD alum who co-taught the program. Roughly 50–60 students and 20 teachers went through the curriculum across the visit.
While there, the Foundation noticed that the orphanage had been hoping to acquire a tractor — a piece of equipment that would meaningfully improve the home’s food security and self-sufficiency. The Foundation purchased a local painting, auctioned it to raise additional funds, and contributed the proceeds toward the tractor. It wasn’t curriculum work, but it was the kind of thing that mattered to the people we were there to serve.
What this looks like in practice
- Direct teaching of students and educators at LOHADA
- Co-teaching alongside Abisola Kusimo, a Stanford Mechanical Engineering PhD alum
- Fundraising activity for the orphanage’s specific needs (the tractor)
- Connection sustained through James Juma’s relationship with the community
Why it matters
The Tanzania trip taught us something the Foundation has now seen play out elsewhere: our most durable partnerships come through people who were once our students. James didn’t need us to find LOHADA. We needed him to find LOHADA. The Foundation’s role is often less about expertise and more about showing up when alumni open doors.