2025 SUMMARY
01 FEBRUARY 2026
In 2025, Jithubutu continued to consolidate itself as a space for learning, collaboration, and creativity for young people in Arusha. It has also become a meeting point for networking and visibility, facilitating the creation of collaborative networks, which is crucial in this context. Thanks to the support of volunteers, visitors, partners, and donors, we have been able to expand and diversify our activities, promoting both the personal development of young people and the strengthening of the community. This report presents a summary of the year, highlighting the most significant achievements, and our plans for the future.
Growth and Participation
- This year, we welcomed 117 new members, bringing the total number of active participants in our activities to 421. However, we are aware that these figures do not fully reflect reality, as the actual number of new members has been considerably higher. For this reason, we are actively promoting participant registration and encouraging our team to inform and support individuals throughout this process, while also fostering consistency and commitment. In addition, we have implemented mechanisms to identify those who are not yet registered, and the initial results show that these measures are working effectively.
- Depending on the scheduled activities, we receive a daily average of between 25 and 50 active members, not including visitors.
Our Achievements in 2025
1. CONSOLIDATION OF A CONSISTENT AND STABLE FLOW OF VOLUNTEERS AND ITS IMPACT
This year, we benefited from the participation of 21 volunteers—almost double the number in 2024! Their contribution has been essential: without them, it would not be possible to move forward with the same level of intensity or to carry out such a wide range of activities. Volunteers bring energy, creativity, new ideas, skills to share, generosity, and a strong sense of commitment.
2. INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED FOR OUR MEMBERS
During 2025, Jithubutu maintained its ongoing activities from the previous year while also launching new initiatives like Basic Spanish and English.
3. EMPLOYMENT
- Once again, two additional members, Spanish language students, have secured employment at the travel agency. They join those who obtained jobs last year and continue working there. We are proud to see how the training we provide creates real opportunities. We continue to identify talent, expand networks, and create new possibilities for our members.
- We would like to remind you that the Jithubutu team continues to grow, and most of its members collaborate entirely on a voluntary basis, either from our centre in Arusha or from abroad. In 2024, only three local team members received compensation for their daily work, in addition to the dance instructors and teachers of some of our workshops. We are pleased to announce that in 2025, we have added a new team member who also receives remuneration for their work. We continue to promote local employment and hope to keep expanding it in the future.
4. INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF VISITS AND THEIR IMPACT
- In 2025, we received a total of 38 visits from groups of international travelers, totaling 289 people, from 10 different travel agencies, three of which joined this year.
- These visits continue to be fundamental to our project. Visitors learn about what we do and our goals, while enjoying participation in our dance classes. Jithubutu inspires them as we share our story. In addition to increasing the Centre’s visibility and attracting new collaborations and donations, these visits are especially important for motivating our youth, giving them the opportunity to practice languages, improve their communication skills, and, above all, feel valued.
IDENTIFICATION AND INITIATION OF CONCRETE ACTIONS TOWARD OUR SELF- SUSTAINABILITY
- This year’s income came from tourist visits and their associated dance classes, direct monetary donations, and the sale of handcrafted items made in our workshops.
- We have launched the “Explore Arusha with Us” program, allowing tourists to discover the most iconic and unique places in Arusha accompanied by our youth (who have studied or are studying to become tour guides—members of Jithubutu). The experience is completed in the afternoon with modern African dance classes or other qctivities at the centre. This program not only has a direct economic impact on our project but also achieves:- Real-world training for our aspiring tour guide students.
– Greater engagement and sense of belonging among the youth with the project (win-win).
– Job creation, as guides and dance instructors receive compensation, and the project generates income that allows us to continue launching new initiatives. Three visits of this type have already taken place and have been a success. We hope to conduct many more in 2026. - We continue working on establishing partnership and collaboration agreements with companies and other organizations.
- We continue implementing improvements in marketing and communication, and we strive to send out newsletters on a monthly basis.
Acknowledgments
We want to express our deep gratitude to all donors, organizations and collaborators, to the Jithubutu team for their constant support, and to all volunteers who, with their time and energy, have given a tremendous boost to our project. Without them, we would not be where we are today.
We are greatly encouraged by the support we receive: those comments telling us that it is a very good, different, and unique project, reflected in the atmosphere at the centre, in how it benefits the members, and in the impact it has on them. All of this is thanks to the help of those who make this project possible.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Conclusion
2025 has once again been a year of learning, growth, and challenges, but also of great progress. We are proud of what we are doing and we strive, and will continue to strive, to do even better. We look toward 2026 with enthusiasm and determination to continue making a positive impact on this, our community!