Dear Friends of Nurturing Minds, 

USAID funding is at risk, jeopardizing the vital work of Nurturing Minds and SEGA and thousands of other impactful organizations worldwide. Now, more than ever, we need to support each other and take action.

Like many of you, we are deeply saddened and concerned about the halt in federal funding for all USAID projects and the dismantling of the agency. The impact on humanitarian aid and education worldwide will be devastating.

The USAID stop-order directly impacts Nurturing Minds and SEGA. 

In 2023, Nurturing Minds and SEGA were awarded a $476,000 USAID grant for essential construction at the SEGA Girls’ School including a new biology lab, dormitory, multipurpose maker space for art, music, and technology, and campus security enhancements scheduled to begin construction in the Spring of 2025. We can no longer count on this critical funding that would have also supported improvements in information and communications technology, curriculum development, and entrepreneurship – along with community outreach initiatives reaching 160,000 people across Tanzania. 

Providing quality education and poverty alleviation in places like Tanzania is also in the United States national interest as it spreads goodwill, promotes positive American democratic values, and keeps developing countries from relying on our adversaries for desperately needed aid. See the video link below with former head of USAID Samantha Powers.

We are asking for you to help us advocate to save USAID and the life-saving funding it provides. Below are some actions you can take:

• Call or Email your U.S. Representatives (find them here) and let them know how this stop-work order is jeopardizing life-changing programs, with devastating consequences for vulnerable people around the world (Please find the suggested script below).



Now is the time to act. Advocacy, education, and sustained pressure on lawmakers can help protect these life-saving programs. Let’s ensure Congress steps up to defend U.S. foreign aid because the cost of inaction is far too high.

Suggested Script: 

Dear Representative: 

My name is [Your Name], and I live in [Your City/State]. I’m reaching out to urge you to restore U.S. foreign aid funding and end the USAID shutdown. This freeze is already having devastating consequences to an organization I support.



U.S. foreign aid would have provided critical funding for the SEGA Girls’ School, a private secondary boarding school educating nearly 260 adolescent Tanzanian girls a year. This support would have included:

• A fully equipped biology lab
• A new dormitory to accommodate more students
• A maker space for hands-on learning and innovation
• A security wall to ensure student safety
• Support for curriculum development and entrepreneurship programs
• And community outreach initiatives that would have impacted 160,000 people across Tanzania. 

This is not just a humanitarian issue, it is an economic and strategic one. Providing quality education and poverty alleviation in places like Tanzania is also in the U.S. national interest as it spreads goodwill, promotes positive American democratic values, and keeps developing countries from relying on our adversaries for desperately needed aid. I urge you to work with your colleagues to restore funding and prevent further harm.

Sincerely, 

(name)

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Nurturing Minds, Inc. | P.O. Box 600617, Newtonville, MA 02460

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