Westborough family helping Tanzanian children ‘Reach for Tomorrow’

Elisha Kottler visits with the children at the IMUMA Orphanage in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. SUBMITTED PHOTO Westborough – Elisha Kottler just shakes her head when she is asked about her trips to Tanzania.

“The children there, they have so little yet they are so happy,” Kottler said. “They are so appreciative of whatever you do for them. And in Bagamoyo, a little goes a long way, whether it be food, money or supplies.”

Kottler imagined that helping others would be an avocation, especially as a student at Champlain College in Burlington Vt., but it is becoming, even while at school, her vocation.

A Westborough resident, Kottler has traveled to Tanzania in each of the last two years and is planning another trip in early 2010. Her parents, Josef and Anne, intrigued by their daughter’s interest in a land and a culture so far away, visited during her five-week visit last year.

The elder Kottlers were so moved by the people of Bagamoyo, Tanzania, especially the children at the IMUMA Orphanage, that helping them has become their passion.

“They’re great kids,” Anne Kottler said. “I find myself smiling at how much they smile but at the same time I’m saddened by how little they have.”

One of the things that is not readily available to Tanzanian children, especially at the orphanage, is formal secondary education.

The Kottlers became aware of this while on their trip and since returning home have worked tirelessly to find a way to help finance the education of children at the orphanage.

Those eff orts resulted in a three-pronged fundraising eff ort “Reach For Tomorrow” that will culminate Sunday night at Hisa Restaurant, 21 South St., with a dinner from 6-9 p.m., that will feature a cocktail reception, a sushi dinner, a sale of African art and crafts, a silent auction and raffle , and special guest speakers. Cost of the evening is $50 per person ($25 for students) and pre-arranged reservations are not required. The Kottlers are hoping for a crowd between 50-75.

“We decided we wanted to help the kids at IMUMA reach for tomorrow,” Anne Kottler said. “We want to help kids go to secondary school, to get out of that impoverished life, to earn a skill or a trade that they can use to help provide for their families.”

The Kottlers, through Reach for Tomorrow, are sponsoring the four-year secondary education process for six children at the IMUMA Orphanage – Aziza, Joyce, Juma, Kasimu, Salemani and Salima.

“It costs about $80 per year per student and we’ve committed to providing the cost of the education for all six of these children for all four years of their secondary education,” Josef Kottler said. “In addition, we’ve committed to finance another 24 children to go to primary school and additional proceeds will go toward helping to build a computer lab at the IMUMA Orphanage and Children’s Center in Bagamoyo.”

Previous fundraising efforts for the children through Reach for Tomorrow have included a mixed doubles tournament at the Westborough Tennis & Swim Club and a Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament. The two events raised about $3,800.

“The kids at IMUMA are amazing,” Elisha Kottler said. “We’re just trying to give the a chance to continue to be amazing.”