Tabasamu

because smiles connect

A warm welcome to the website of our non-profit association Tabasamu.

We are Michaela and Sarah – founders of Tabasamu - and are currently both in our early twenties. We are based in the beautiful Waldviertel region, which is located in a county called Lower Austria in Austria. During our final high school years, we mostly spent at home due to Covid, we were nurturing our wanderlust and decided that, once the restrictions were reduced, wanted to spend the next few months on the other side of the globe.

At the time, our parents underestimated our determination and stubborn will to travel abroad. They were quite sceptical about the whole thing - until the moment we boarded the plane.

During our three-month stay in Tanzania’s second-largest city, Arusha, we taught children aged two to six years in an English/Swahili-language preschool in a variety of subjects.

During our stay, we were able to raise several thousand Euros through our first fundraising campaign, which allowed us to fulfil some of the children's greatest wishes. We funded a house for the school including a kitchen and kitchen utensils, set up a playground with a slide, swings and trampoline, erected a 52-meter-long security wall and bought school supplies, clothing, and classroom equipment.

In the summer of 2022, we stayed in Arusha for the second time and were again able to implement many things with the money we raised. We kept talking about wanting to do more than "just" implement projects in our own name. So, without hesitation, we came up with the idea of founding an association. After months of preparation and planning, we are now more than happy to put our ideas into practice.

We are proud to have family & friends who support us and stand by our side

Therefore we would like to introduce the whole board to you: