A Wonderful Gift
Bill with children from Bushasha Village.
The story behind one of the donors to our matching challenge is a story about family, in particular the family of Mary and Jim Suhr.
The Suhrs’ son, Bill, was busy running a successful design and construction business in Seattle when he learned about CORE Tanzania’s Twegashe School project and decided he wanted to be involved. In 2017, Bill began participating in weekly school design meetings. In January 2018, he took a trip to Bushasha, where he met many of the children in the village and observed first-hand the need for a new school. During that same trip Bill spent a week traveling across Tanzania visiting schools and looking at construction techniques. He returned to Bushasha that fall to help build an access road to the site and level the school sports field. To top this all off, in May of this year Bill shut down his business in Seattle to spend seven months in Bushasha overseeing the school construction project. His role is to make sure that the quality of construction matches the high quality of education we plan to provide.
Bill and his daughter Isabel making sure the school foundation is level.
Bill shared his enthusiasm for this project with his two adult children. In July, his daughter Isabel and son Christoph both traveled to Bushasha to see things for themselves and to lend a hand to the effort.
And then in August we had an unexpected communication from Jim Suhr. Jim explained that he and his wife Mary, who recently passed away, had “discussed and embraced the idea they wanted to substantially assist financially in the CORE Tanzania project.” Jim was now offering this assistance to CORE in the form of a donation for $50,000 and a second $50,000 matching challenge pledge!
Jim had not discussed these plans with Bill, but when he did, Bill heartily endorsed the gift to CORE Tanzania. According to Jim, Bill reflected on his mother’s early career as a teacher, and her lifelong support in the family of the value of education.
Jim Suhr’s donation is given in loving memory of his wife Mary. The gift will provide general support for the Twegashe School operating budget, and will also fund the construction of the school cafeteria/auditorium, which will be named Mary Semple Suhr Hall and dedicated in her honor.
Mary Semple Suhr Hall will be a wonderful asset to the school. It will allow us to provide meals to all students so that lack of nutrition does not interfere with their learning. It will also serve as a venue for school plays, and music and dance productions, where children can express their creativity and give voice to their local culture. Finally, the hall will be a gathering place that will enable Twegashe School to be not just a place of learning for its 240 students, but a place of growth and development for the entire community.
Thank you, Jim, for your wonderfully generous gift!
