About TFL - Moshi, Kilimanjaro

A prosperous, poverty-free Tanzania, built by empowered youth.

Training For Life (TFL) is a Tanzanian, youth-led NGO founded in 1996 and registered in 2007 (Reg. No. 00NGO/0245), based in Moshi, Kilimanjaro. We identify, train, and mentor talented young people aged 15–35 from economically disadvantaged families across Tanzania, equipping them with market-driven skills, scholarships, and entrepreneurship pathways to become job creators and community changemakers.

1996

Founded in Moshi

845+

Alumni giving back

5 acres

Farmland, alumni‑owned

Our Story

1996 — Founded

TFL was founded in 1996 on a simple belief: every young person, regardless of background, holds the potential to lead and to change their community.

2007 — Registered

What began as a training initiative in Moshi has grown into a movement of more than 845 alumni — young people who completed our programmes and are now giving back as mentors, donors, and employers of the next generation.

2025 — Land of their own

In 2025, that alumni community raised its own funds to purchase 5 acres of farmland, turning TFL graduates from beneficiaries into owners of the organisation’s future.

Who We Are

Training For Life (TFL) is a Tanzanian, youth-led NGO founded in 1996 and registered in 2007 (Reg. No. 00NGO/0245), based in Moshi, Kilimanjaro. We identify, train, and mentor talented young people aged 15–35 from economically disadvantaged families across Tanzania, equipping them with market-driven skills, scholarships, and entrepreneurship pathways to become job creators and community changemakers.

Mission, Vision & Values

Vision

A prosperous, poverty-free Tanzania, where empowered youth are the primary drivers of resilient, thriving communities.

Mission

To identify, equip, and connect youth from economically disadvantaged families with scholarships, market-driven skills, and dignified employment pathways, so they become job creators, leaders, and agents of lasting change in their communities.

Our Core Belief

Unemployment is not a lack of ability. It is a lack of opportunity. When a talented young person cannot afford school or training, poverty is not their failure; it is a system failure. TFL exists to fix that system, one young leader at a time.

Values

Empowerment

We believe in handling over the tools, not just providing the solution. We equip youth to drive their own development

Integrity

We act with unwavering honesty and transparency. We are accountable to our youth, our donirs and each other.

Excellence

We bring our best to everything we do, from designing a training module to managing a scholarship fund. Our beneficiaries deserve nothing less.

Collaboration

We work hand-in-hand with communities, local leaders and each either. We achieve more together.

Stewardship

We treat every donation, every piece of equipment and every minute of time as a precious resource meant for maximum impact

Our Approach

A six-step cycle, where the most committed graduates return to power the next one.

1

Identify

We find talented young people excluded from opportunity, not because of ability, but because of poverty, geography, or lack of connections.

2

Develop

Through Course 4, Kijana Fursa, and Soma na Matumaini, we build practical skills, character, and leadership.

3

Equip

We connect graduates to seed capital, savings groups, and scholarships.

4

Connect

We link youth to mentors, employers, and markets, closing the “experience trap” that keeps first-time job seekers locked out.

5

Create

Graduates launch businesses and take up employment, creating income for themselves and jobs for others.

6

Lead

Our most committed graduates return as alumni mentors, donors, and future board members, sustaining the cycle for the next cohort.

Leadership & Governance

MS

Rev. Mathew Saruma

Chairperson

GZ

Mr. Gasper Zavu

Managing Director

VM

Mr. Victor Mshana, CPA(T)

Treasurer

EM

Mr. Emmanuel Mtowe

Director

AN

Ms. Aikande Nkya

Director

FL

Ms. Francisca Lengeju

Director

PN

Dr. Paul Nandrie

Director

Honorary Members

DS

Mr. Dominic Shoo

EC

Mr. Edson Chongolo

Accountability

TFL is governed by an active Board of Directors that meets at least twice a year, with an Annual General Meeting open to our community each April. Our finances use dual signatories, quarterly internal audits, and QuickBooks-based tracking.

Board meets at least twice a year

AGM open to our community every April

Dual signatories on all finances

Quarterly internal audits, QuickBooks-tracked