Operation Bootstrap Africa: Empowering Communities in Tanzania Through Education and Sustainable Development

Nov 25, 2025 0

In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future” to be achieved by 2030. Global Volunteers is committed to the vision and volition of the SDGs and measures our outcomes accordingly. In this blog series, we share the work of companion organizations toward achieving the SDGs. One such organization is Operation Bootstrap Africa (OBA).

When Operation Bootstrap Africa (OBA) was founded in Minneapolis in 1965 by Lutheran missionary Rev. J. David Simonson, a “bootstrap” philosophy guided his vision. Living with his young family among the Maasai people of Tanzania had taught Rev. Simonson that no person can pick themselves up by their own bootstraps.

Graduands prepare for procession to a graduation venue at the Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre Nursing School.

OBA's Mission and Approach

Operation Bootstrap Africa says the nonprofit continues to see themselves as a “conduit of change.” The nonprofit has two full-time employees and around 100 volunteers. It’s funded mostly through individual donations.

“We don’t have our set goals; our (community) partners come to us to define what their goals are,” Jason said. Too often, he continued, developing communities become overrun by NGOs. For instance, organizations that do for people, instead of engaging them fully are likely to fail.

“We always ask, what’s the impact of Western influence in the communities,” Jason explains. individuals. They focus largely on services for women - the primary change-agents on the continent.

Education as a Cornerstone

OBA donors support Olarash Primary School in Tanzania, which educates about 550 children, ages 4 to 14. OBA supports the Special Needs Education Unit at the Ilboru School in Arusha, northern Tanzania. Again, most of our work is in education. It may not be in the actual construction of brick and mortar schools, and we’re not necessarily putting in wells, and we don’t have a need for back hoes, specifically.

He also points to an agricultural school teaching sustainable farming such as terracing and fish farming when appropriate. “So, we find that a lot of it revolves around education; and so then how do we support our African brothers and sisters to do that, to learn and do that work themselves? Education really is the key.”

Nursing Education

Jason offers their Arusha nursing program, established six years ago, as an example. In that time, they graduated three classes. “With a 100% pass rate on our equivalent to the ‘Bar exam,'” he adds proudly. There’s a great nursing shortage in Tanzania, he explains, with 5,000 patient to each nurse.

Compounding the shortage is the type of training offered through government schools. “They teach how to take blood pressure and how to give injections, and the like,” he says. “But they don’t teach, or even encourage compassion.

The Arusha Lutheran Medical Center identified the need for a nursing school. “We walked alongside them and said we’d like to help with tuition subsidies.

OBA Scholarships of $1,000 annually for each student at the Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre School of Nursing in Tanzania ensures motivated young women can earn certification.

Focus on Girls' Education

OBA focuses largely on girls’ education. “This is what we teach donors. Because, if you want to create change in the village, you work with the women.

Jason offered another story. “Last year in January, I took a group of donors to Tanzania for the 25th anniversary of the Masai Girls’ School. I identified some of the girls from the original graduating class, and I asked to talk to them.”

Of those who were willing to talk, there was an architect, a medical doctor, a pilot, a social worker, a graphic designer and one woman who decided to return to her traditional village life. “The goals of the school, from the very beginning,” he continued, “was to just give these girls a little better education, give them an opportunity to expand their horizons, and postpone marriage and babies.

By giving these girls a job they have an independent life. They have self-direction and are empowered.

Two days later, he was at the airport and returning to Minnesota with his donor group. “And somebody comes running up and says ‘director, director,’ and I started looking around, and I see it’s her - the traditional village girl. I asked what she was doing there. She said: ‘Oh, I’ve been asked to speak at a symposium at Oxford University in London.’ Amazing, right?

Sustainable Solutions

By contrast, he said, OBA prefers simple technology that local people can understand and manage on their own. “It’s a beautiful mechanism, where you slow a river down during the rainy season, and you create a sediment trap. The (constructed) dam captures soil-laden water behind it.

Forty percent of the sand behind the dam sinks to the bottom, and what remains is a clear and pure water source. And it’s not subject to mosquitoes or other pathogens and bacteria you might have problems with. “This is what I bring to our board. “

Terrace farming.

Donor Relations and Cultural Sensitivity

Perhaps the greatest challenge of the organization’s international philanthropy is negotiating appropriate expectations for donors and local leaders. As a charitable organization, OBA strives for transparency and accountability. To this end, Jason explained that donors always accompany him on overseas partner visits so they can see first-hand how their gifts are used.

The MaaSAE Girl’s Lutheran Secondary School in Tanzania was founded to provide girls an alternative to traditional village life. “Our donors are great people, and when they start developing a relationship with somebody in Africa, they want to help. But, as successful Americans, they’re used to a very fast pace, and that means they oftentimes can carry on their own agenda.

That’s where I have to have a plan. I tell them that during our local visits, they can observe from the back of the room. And sometimes we sit under an Acacia tree and it takes a long time. We’re there to listen and I never designate an agenda. They’re not always patient enough to understand the intricacies of international development.

So even though we could leave a school with without a plan for next steps, I know that I can come back and remind them what we talked about. To address donors’ desire to have a more direct relationship with the sponsored students, Jason described a private online chat system to facilitate donor/student communications.

“Once (donors) have this understanding, they continue and embrace it. And I believe (local leaders) know that I value their culture and them as individuals.

Addressing Crisis Conditions

OBA prefers long-term projects, but is realistic about crisis conditions that require stop-gap responses. Jason said the global pandemic has put already struggling communities into even greater need. He hopes the outcome won’t be short-term relief that can make donors feel better, but cause long-term damage.

He described one OBA school program in an urban area that relies on tourism. “There are 1,500 children there who come at 7 in the morning and go home at three o’clock in the afternoon, very much like our schools. There’s no food or water on campus. And because it’s an urban school, supper is not assumed. Often, they get only one meal a day. There’s no place for their parents to grow food.

So we set up this program where the parents paid for the cooking and the firewood, matches, and things like that. And we paid for the groceries, about $14 per child daily. The parents’ part is one-third and ours is two-thirds. But because of the pandemic, and absence of tourists, families are trying to live without income.

In northern Tanzania, Olchoki Primary School serves over 1,400 students from the urban center of Arusha.

A Personal Connection

“I feel like I’m plugging into something that’s greater than myself,” said Jason. “I studied philosophy and theology, psychology and anthropology, but there’s something about our work that is greater than ego, it’s greater than finance, it’s greater than most of the motivations that humanity operates under.

“Our donor groups come in from all over the US, and we all meet in Amsterdam. There, I give them a warning. I say, ‘this is your last chance, because I’m going to tell you this. By entering that airplane, your life on the planet will never be the same.’ There’s something about Africa that enters your soul, and you can’t give it up.”

While the work OBA does is tangible, the outcomes transcend measurements, Jason asserts. In that regard, the SDGs are more a guide than a prescription.

“I’m very, very fortunate to be standing on the shoulders of my predecessors, who did such amazing, solid work, and the founder - 50 years ago - understood this,” Jason concluded.

“The Sustainable Development Goals are really good, because they help focus our attention on good development. Global Volunteers respects and supports Operation Bootstrap Africa’s work to bring the benefit of the SDGs to struggling communities in Africa. We share their vision to help achieve well-being for all without compromising the potential of future generations to meet their needs, and invite opportunities for NGO partnerships in these areas.