The Coral and Pearl Hostels Trust (CPHT) is a Manx charity working to support vulnerable girls in Tanzania through education and maternity care.

Currently we are supporting six girls at The Coral Home in the Usambara Mountains and sponsoring their education in local schools.

Three of them came out of exceptionally deprived situations and are now the foster-daughters of our housemother, Catherina.

The other project we are supporting is The House of Pearls, which helps under-age girls who have been made pregnant.

In the hostel they are provided with a home and maternity care for about six months while they have their babies.

Why/When did you form?

CPHT was formed in 2021 and registered in 2022, to manage information and fundraising for the projects.

This is done in partnership with a Tanzania charity, fisherfolkstrust.org which has been registered in Tanzania since 2004 and is responsible for the sites, buildings and day-to-day management of Coral Home and House of Pearls.

Coral Home is the part of the project which focuses on educational opportunities.

The state primary education in Tanzania is taught entirely in the Swahili language, but secondary education switches to English.

As a result, children who attend private English-medium primary schools have a great advantage in secondary and higher education.

We strongly believe that all children should be allowed to achieve their true potential and we seek to provide as many as possible with the opportunity of attending English-medium primary school (although at present we do not have enough space to accommodate boys).

This will give them the life chances they would not otherwise have, and enrich both them and the communities they come from.

House of Pearls is the part of the project which focuses on maternity care.

Until November 2021, a girl who got pregnant was denied any further state education, and although this law has been repealed, returning to school is almost impossible for a girl who has a baby to care for.

Abortion is illegal in all circumstances, including rape.

Often the situation of an unwanted pregnancy causes girls to take desperate steps which result in terrible consequences for both mother and baby.

We seek to help the girls emotionally and psychologically in adjusting to their situation, as well as providing healthcare and a nutritious diet.

The mothers stay at the House of Pearls before and after delivery, learning to prepare suitable food for themselves and their babies.

They are also taught dressmaking and basic secretarial skills to help them support themselves.

At the moment, this project has been temporarily suspended due to lack of funds, but we hope to continue with this vital work as soon as funds permit. It is very much needed.

What has been your biggest achievement or proudest moment since forming?

The oldest girl at the Coral Home, Tumaini (Hope) has been in the care of our housemother Catherina since she was four. She is now sixteen.

In her primary school leaving exam she achieved excellent results, and went on to be accepted at St Catherine’s, one of the best girls’ secondary schools in the country.

As long as we can find the funds to continue supporting her through her A levels, she has every chance of continuing to university and beyond. What a star.

What is your biggest ambition / goal for the future?

To enable Tumaini and all the girls currently at the Coral Home to achieve their full potential and to support others to follow in their footsteps.

We also wish to resume the work of the maternity hostel, receiving many more girls at the House of Pearls and providing for them and their babies.

How can people get involved?

There are many ways in which people can get involved in the work of the Coral and Pearl Hostels Trust.

Here are some suggestions:

Get together with some friends to sponsor one of the girls in the home, and receive regular updates on progress.

We invite people who would like to be more fully involved than just making a donation (welcome though that most certainly is), either to choose one of the Coral Home girls to sponsor, perhaps as a group, and therefore to receive regular updates, photographs etc of their sponsee, who would also write to them if so wished, or to provide specific funds for one or more girls to spend six months at the House of Pearls, with updates and photographs of their time there.

How to get in touch or donate?

Email the secretary at [email protected]

Call us on 07548 204 643 (secretary) or 01624 833 154 (treasurer).

Our website is https://cphtiom.wordpress.com/

Do you have a charity that does great work here in the Isle of Man?

We are currently featuring charities, for free, across all three of our newspapers.

We want to help those who may need a boost during the cost of living crisis.

Be prepared to include photos too.

If you would like to see your charity featured in this series, please email gemma.nettle@ iomtoday.co.im