By Amy Pitman
Volunteer, Art In Tanzania
Art in Tanzania is primarily known for its volunteer work, in which people from across the world assist in bettering the community in Tanzania. However, it also has another function: to allow locals to expand and develop their skills.
Simon Fredrick Simon, 19, is in charge of an internet café at the Dar es Salaam volunteer house. Every afternoon, he also teaches IT classes to locals of various ages. His story might have been quite different had Art in Tanzania not given him a chance.
From an early age, Simon learned to earn money to fund his education. In a family where he has a brother and two sisters, finding money for school was difficult.
He started making money when he was 10 by collecting empty plastic bottles and selling them for recycling. Simon was forced to find money because he would be punished by caning if he didn’t pay his school fees. He would earn 2,000 Tsh (US $1.25) per kilogram of bottles. All this money contributed to his education.
Over the next few years, Simon made building blocks for sale, sold mangos, and went fishing, often selling his produce at a nearby Kunduchi village. His Father taught computer studies, and Simon was able to attend some lessons, becoming incredibly interested in the subject. The class was taught in the same room as English, allowing Simon to learn another language. He had a natural gift for IT and was soon given the opportunity by his Father to teach the IT class, eventually progressing to teach English.
Simon learned about Art in Tanzania and started volunteering in the IT department. Around the same time, he was forced to move out and find his own house. He has only been living on his own for seven months.
To begin with, a couple of Finnish girls supported him by 
paying for his rent, but soon, he secured a job at Art in Tanzania and can now support himself, although it is still challenging to make ends meet. Along with his monthly salary of 100,000 Tsh (US $ 62), he is also given 20% of the internet café takings, which helps him pay for his bills.
Simon enjoys working and learning, continuing in IT, and perhaps even going on and teaching the subject in school. The opportunity to work at Art in Tanzania allowed him to develop his skills further and meet a number of different people from across the world.
He plans to work for the rest of the year before returning to secondary school to complete his studies. He hopes to join a university or college to study IT further after his secondary school studies.
