Brewer Science sponsors science teacher in Africa

The teacher will be the first science instructor at Mwaya Secondary School in Tenende, a village where Askinosie Chocolate, a small-batch chocolate maker, sources beans and where Chocolate University – a local and global outreach initiative aimed at inspiring social entrepreneurship in students – has been involved for two years.

Brewer’s donation is for $2,400, said Shawn Askinosie, founder of Askinosie Chocolate.
“A full-time teacher costs $2,400 in Tanzania, and that’s a good salary. It’s really sad,” Askinosie said.

Askinosie said Brewer Science founder Terry Brewer has long been a fan of his chocolate, which led to the teacher sponsorship.

“They knew of our work with Chocolate University, so I just asked if they would be interested in helping us with a science teacher, and it’s just a perfect fit since (science) is what they do,” Askinosie said. “There is no science teacher at this school, and this is a high school with 1,100 students and 10 teachers – that’s it,” he said.

Askinosie is planning a trip this summer to Tanzania with a group of 12 Springfield high school students. The group also will include three Drury University students, a Drury professor, a Central High School teacher and a Convoy of Hope representative.

Though they will get to meet the new teacher, Askinosie said he and the students also will work with the Mwaya PTA on a sustainable nutrition program for the Tanzanian students, who typically get just one meal a day. He will buy 1,000 kilos, or a metric ton, of rice from the PTA, and this summer, the student group will work to screen-print kilo bags for the rice, which will bagged, stored and shipped to the U.S. with a container of Askinosie cocoa beans from the region.

“I’ll buy each bag for $1, and then we’ll sell them for $15 when we get here, and the $14 will fund a lunch program, beginning, we hope in February, for those kids,” Askinosie said.

Though the travelers also will work with the school on some technology needs, he said he’s equally excited about the sustainable food program. “If kids don’t have food in their bellies, they can’t learn,” Askinosie said. “I think it proves that business can partner with PTAs and people in education and not involve donations or grants or anything else, and feed children,” he said.