MySpace a place for friends

Tanzania: Debt Relief Works

Tanzania is among the 18 highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) whose debt was completely cancelled by the Group of Eight (G8) countries.

According to the World Bank, Tanzania received $3 billion in debt relief. The east African country has increased funding for poverty reduction by 130 percent over the last six years. Tanzania has also focused the money saved from debt cancellation on increasing education spending and eliminating school fees for elementary education.

Almost overnight, an estimated 1.6 million children returned to school. By 2003, 3.1 million children were back in school. The net enrollment ratio has risen from 58.8 percent in 2000 to 88.5 percent in 2003. Tanzania hopes to attain universal basic education by the end of this year.

One of the estimated millions of children who benefited from the education made possible by debt cancellation in Tanzania was a 7-year-old girl named Furahini.

The movie above is her story. This video is from Tearfund's Youth Team with music by Tim Hughes - www.tearfund.org/youth