It Can Be Done and We Did It!

Giving back is the core of ILAVA’s mission. As we push forward with expanding our giving efforts,we would like share what we have been able to achieve as a business and community, through your donations and purchases. For the past 5 years, ILAVA has been the primary sponsor of the One Girl, One Bike Project in Tanzania.

One Girl, One Bike has impacted 225 girls.
Through this project we have reached the Lindi, Dodoma, and Tanga regions where bicycles were distributed to young girls who walk more than 20 miles one-way to and from school.
In 2020, Nangaru School in Lindi had two female students who received Division two and three on their Form Four Mock Exams (Tanzania National Exam to determine college acceptance). This achievement is something that has never happened since the school’s inception.
54% of the students who responded during the evaluation of the project’s efforts could relate to the importance of bicycles in solving gender-based violence challenges for girls who walked along the road.
97% (68 students) of those who received bicycles had no more challenges related to punctuality and tiredness, due to their previous long commute to and from school.

So, what’s next?

This year, our goal is to impact 100 girls with 100 bikes. Additionally, we have partnered with another non profit organization, Empowered Girl Africa in their Comfy Period Project.

The Comfy Period Project aims to empower girls to know about their bodies and how they work, as well as having the sanitary supplies for comfortable menstrual health management.

Through this project, girls learn to appreciate and accept themselves. Each girl in our rural partner schools and all those who cannot afford pads in our urban schools get a monthly supply of sanitary products. Increasing the availability of these products enables girls to attend classes on a daily basis, boosts their self esteem and confidence, and gives them a better chance to compete favorably in class – hence improved academic performance. Also, girls are also taught to make reusable pads to help their peers in the villages who do not have access or cannot afford to buy them.

“I have a big smile on my face because I know I have pads each month, I do not have to check myself all the time and worry about shaming myself.”

In partnership with Empowered Girls Africa, ILAVA Gives Back will mobilize a distribution of sanitary pads to 100 girls. Every time you shop with ILAVA, you contribute towards the enhancement of girls’ education in rural Tanzania. You can also give tax deductible donations to ILAVA Gives Back. The Opportunity: Comfy Period Project: It cost $2 per month for one girl $24 per year for one girl Total to raise $2,400 for 100 girls. One Girl One Bike: A donation of $75 will cover the cost of the bike and all the necessary cost to transfer the bike to the village. Transportation and the menstrual cycle are two of the main challenges most girls in Tanzania are facing. The ILAVA family pledged to support 100 girls for one year and 100 Bikes. We hope you will consider joining us on the journey, as we continue to fight for girls’ education and rights.