Cooking Up Better Futures

It’s one of the major sources of foreign dollars. And it could be the key to a good life for many young Tanzanians.

We know this is true, because we’ve seen it at our own campus restaurant, Papa’s Cafe & Bungalows. Over the last four years, Papa’s has continued to grow. And one of the greatest things to watch is the young workers who have flourished in the kitchens and on at the front of house. 

We’ve seen Fatuma go from a garden worker to a kitchen worker to an invaluable member of our hospitality staff, taking care of more than 150 guests at our guesthouse. She wouldn’t have had that kind of career development without her training at Papa’s. 

Next year, we hope to formalize that training with a vocational education program at Papa’s.  

Thanks to a gift from a generous donor, JBFC has now broken ground on a new classroom to house the Papa’s VETA (Vocational Education Tanzania Authority) program. JBFC plans to offer a registered program that will provide hands-on experience in catering, restaurant management and housekeeping. Upon completion of the two-year program, graduates will receive a certificate in hotel administration.

This will give rural students who may not have the opportunity to go on to Advanced Secondary for Form 5 a chance to get training that will give them a good paying job in the tourism industry.

We hope to enroll approximately 20 students. We will charge a modest tuition, so the program can be sustainable and hopefully another source of revenue for JBFC. 

We’ve seen so much success at Papa’s. And we’ve seen our employees really take off. One of our favorites, Johnny, was able to save enough from his job at Papa’s to purchase a dozen cows. And he used his experience at Papa’s to get another job as a safari driver.