#tennis tennisworldfoundation tanzania charity

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Tennis World Foundation Lands In Tanzania. It all starts with 140 children.

A famous Italian song begins with a phrase that has now become part of the collective imagination: “In the Black Continent, at the foot of Kilimanjaro.” We do not know if Edoardo Vianello has ever been there, but Tennis World Foundation has, as they have extended their philanthropic efforts to this charming corner of Africa in the north east of Tanzania, not too far from the Kenyan border. To be more precise, Federico Coppini’s Foundation has started working in Arusha, a stone's throw from the Arusha National Park and not too far from the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro National Park.

In this quiet region there is an elementary school, which was founded in 1975 and is managed by Amani Palangyo Epaphras. He has embraced the Tennis World Foundation, excited by its initiatives which have already seen tremendous results in South Africa.

Coppini, an Italian transplanted to Africa and in love with the continent, has finally fulfilled his dream of expanding into a new nation, and believes Arusha is the ideal place to start.

It’s a very large school, with over 900 children (477 girls and 468 boys). Of these, 140 are involved in the very first Tennis World Foundation project.

RELATED: Raise money for charity every time you open a new tab in the browser. It's very easy to use! And free for you but a gift for the purpose you care about. Whenever you open a tab, help the world be a better place.

The financial resources needed to pay the teachers and subsidize transport is already in place, as are funds to supply t-shirts, caps, rackets and nets. Balls have already arrived in Arusha (not those used by adults, but ones suitable for children under the age of 10).

The initial phase of the project involves third grade children and will last three months. Of course, it does not end here: 24 (or 32) children will be selected to continue for the next six months, playing tennis in the afternoons and giving a more competitive spirit to their activity. The dream – also supported by Epaphras – is to train a tennis professional.

Dreaming is beautiful, but it is equally important to have concrete objectives. Coppini’s dreams were born in Kayamandi, a poor district of Stellenbosch in South Africa. A player and coach himself, he soon found success in his endeavours with the young children, and wanted to expand his activities. He realized that playing tennis made them happy and that he could have a positive influence in their lives.

What initially was a hobby in his free time quickly turned into a massive commitment with his foundation. He aims to help children grow emotionally, physically and mentally, and believes that tennis is a wonderful tool to achieve these goals.

“I realized that tennis gives me a wonderful feeling, it makes me grow and I like to belong to a community. And I discovered these are the same reasons why children love being part of it.”

With tennis, kids grow up in a safe space and are led by adults who can guide them in a positive way. They will therefore not risk running into gangs or other troublemakers, as so often happens for youngsters in tough circumstances. The Tennis World Foundation has been met with great enthusiasm by all the schools and organizations with which it plans to work.

The project has started, but now the time has come to expand it. With its resources, TWF helps around 600 children, but the goal is to multiply them quickly. For this reason it is important to obtain any kind of support for a project of high human value and (crucial) very transparent. For this reason, an initiative has been launched at no cost to anyone, but fundamental for the Tennis World Foundation: the instructions to join the initiative (very simple) can be found at www.tabtennisfoundation.org: in a nutshell, installing the app, every time you open a tab in your browser you provide a contribution (totally at no cost) for Tennis World Foundation and its exciting initiatives.

In Africa, on the other hand, there is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Right now, TWF is turning to the immense tennis "village" to wrest many children from poverty and contribute to the development of strong and happy human beings.

“No matter what kind of challenges or difficulties or painful situations you go through in your life, we all have something deep within us that we can reach down and find the inner strength to get through them.” ―Alana Stewart

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Tanzania gets its Tennis Colours

From its beginning in South Africa, the Tennis World Foundation (TWF) project is now being developed in Tanzania, as well. A few days ago, we had told you about the promising partnership with a primary school in Arusha, a city not that far from Kilimanjaro, whose authorities understood the potential and intentions of TWF.

Today, we can confirm about a very exciting moment: materials’ arrival for eight-year-olds who will be part of the program.

A simple 41-second movie warms the heart: you can see dozens of children, who are not part of any school, lined up in perfect order, and listening carefully to the words of an instructor and answering in chorus, displaying lively enthusiasm.

They are all wearing the Foundation t-shirt: it's beautiful, white in colour with the word "Love" and a stylized tennis ball in place of the "O". Apart from the t-shirt’s interactive graphic, an important message is conveyed through the simple word. Not only does TWF aim to improve the children’s tennis-playing abilities but its main goal is to share joy, happiness and – indeed – love with so many children who would not have any such opportunity, otherwise.

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” ―Vivian Greene

Everyone also wears a hat: if, it is a habit for us at times to wear one, in Sub-Saharan Africa it is a necessary tool to protect oneself from the sun’s heat.

Observing the children’s enthusiasm for the newly-received material provides two-fold happiness. Not only does it help open their eyes to what should have been life’s priorities but for us, it fills our heart with happiness. It also reminds us of how certain things that are taken for granted in the opulent western world are not the same elsewhere. Like, for us, getting a new t-shirt is almost trivial. For those children, it is the best moment of the week, perhaps even of the month, and a topic of discussion when they return to their respective homes.

The Tanzanian project is aimed at helping 140 children, and is of a three-month duration. A few who display best talent among these numbers (anywhere between 24 to 32) will participate in a more competitive course that will be of a six-month duration. All this has been made possible thanks to TWF’s commitment and, of course, because of offers and donations of enthusiasts from all over the world.

It’s easy to donate, too through The TAB Tennis Foundation initiative. It has been active for some days now: it is a very simple tool to use. Just install the extension and every time, you open a new tab on your browser, a small gift reaches the foundation. The extraordinary aspect is that this activity does not cost anything for those who do so, yet it contributes in making the world a better place.

Up to now, TWF has helped around 600 children, but we do not want to stop there. Your help is essential to see more and more movies like this. Movies that improve the day of those who see them.