Baking Treats for Tanzania

A small group of students hailing from Christian Center School, Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy and Lake City High School have been baking and selling their treats weekly for more than a year to fund the building of a water well and a trip to Tanzania.

They call their group, “Treats for Tanzania” and began baking after Violet Hoffman, 15, a sophomore at the Christian Center School pitched the idea to them.

Violet’s parents, Will and Jenny Hoffman, had worked as missionaries in Tanzania before Violet was born, and in 2013, they took the family back to visit. Their oldest daughter, Jillian, remembers some of their time living there, but Violet had never gone to Africa.

“Violet had always wanted to go and came back with the idea to build a well to help the girls there,” Mr. Hoffman said.

The Hadza tribe has long been studied by anthropologists because they have maintained the same hunter-gatherer techniques for thousands of years. Members of the tribe speak Swahili but also a “click” language where communication is through a series of clicks and other sounds, Mr. Hoffman explained.

But modern life has been encroaching on their way of life, and their ability to survive as they have has been threatened as people vie for the land which they have hunted on for so long. Because of this, they are in the midst of a lands rights issue, Mr. Hoffman explained. For the first time, the Hadza tribe is being forced to claim ownership of their land. Much of the assistance to help them buy back their land has come from the same research anthropologists studying them, according to a documentary by the Nature Conservancy organization.

When the Hoffmans returned from their trip, Violet was moved to help the people of the Hadza tribe. They had seen firsthand the effects of drought and famine, and clean water is still difficult to obtain.

“In the Hadza Valley, they had a drought that resulted in a famine. They had a water funneling system, but it doesn’t give them sufficient clean water, and people have to walk for three hours to get it, and it’s still not clean. And women are often the ones doing it. A well would help women get their kids to school and would also be good for agriculture and hygiene,” Violet said she learned on the trip back in 2013.

During the trip, her parents, older sister, Jillian, and she delivered medical supplies, toys and clothes purchased from donations given by Real Life Ministries, their church at the time. But Violet’s thoughts lingered about what she could do to help the Hadza tribe and their need for clean water.

“I kept thinking about them and wasn’t sure what to do. Instead of raising money for food, I thought the well would last a long time and go a long way,” she said.

Last, she thought about how she could get her friends to help. She approached Aubrey Woodworth and Danica Towan, and they were on board right away. Carissa Gallegos joined them not long after. Two of Violet’s brothers and a friend are also coming along with several parents. All are friends at the Hayden Community Church where Violet’s father is the pastor. The girls have met weekly since the fall of 2013 to decide on what to bake to raise money for the Hadza tribe.

“We raised $22,409 in all of 2014 and 2015. Every week, we set out treats and people can donate. One time, there was a check for $1,000,” Violet said.

Raising money for the Hadza tribe has been one of the biggest things on which some of her friends have ever worked. And it’s brought them closer together.

“This is not just about Violet. It’s about her and her friends,” Mr. Hoffman said. “They’ve grown in friendship because it’s based on something.”

“She asked us and it sounded really cool. I hadn’t really done anything like this before, so it’s cool to do it for her and also to help out other people,” said Aubrey, 16, a sophomore at the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy. “I’m really excited about it. I’ll probably be nervous as it gets closer, but right now, it’s exciting.”

Danica too is excited to visit a place where the culture is so different and see the fruits of their labor in the well. When she first started baking, however, she wasn’t sure they’d get this far.

“We thought we’d try it for a couple of weeks. I wasn’t sure if it would go anywhere, but we prayed about it and kept going,” said Danica, 15, a sophomore at Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy.

For Carissa, 14, a freshman at Lake City High School, Africa is already a part of her. She has two adopted siblings from Ethiopia and visited the country when her family adopted her younger sister three years ago.

“I have a heart for Africa, and I want to make it so that they have water,” Carissa said. “I’m very excited to see how they live.”

The amount raised over the two years has been enough to fund a water well for the tribe. Majitech (“maji” means “water” in Swahili) will be drilling in the coming months and should be completed by the time the group visits in June. Now, they are raising money for the trip. Violet said they each need about $4,000 for it.

Treats 4 Tanzania has a Facebook page to check for fundraising updates, and anyone can donate money for their upcoming trip by sending a tax-deductible donation to Hayden Community Church at 3639 W. Prairie Ave., Hayden 83835. All donations will go to the group traveling to Tanzania in June. Also on March 16 at 7pm, they will be showing the film, “The Good Lie” starring Reese Witherspoon at the Hayden Discount Theater. The film chronicles the journey of a group of Sudanese orphans and war refugees as they eventually make their way to the U.S. Proceeds from the ticket sales will go toward the Treats 4 Tanzania trip as well. Lastly, there is a spaghetti dinner and auction on April 9 at 6pm at the Prairie Christian Center in Hayden.

“It’s been cool – people have been super generous,” Violet said. “It’s been amazing and humbling to watch.”

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