Merrimack grad starts nonprofit to help in Tanzania

MERRIMACK – A resident is hoping her new organization will help needy students who live 7,000 miles away.

Alyssa Snow, 20, recently launched a nonprofit organization called Achieve in Africa Inc. Its first goal, said Snow, a senior at Boston University’s College of Communication, is to raise $30,000 to rebuild two classrooms at the Olasiti Primary School in Tanzania.

The school, she said, houses 1,900 students, is overcrowded, and parts are in total disrepair. Snow hopes to raise the money before her friend and organization co-founder, Brendan Callahan, visits the school in June.

“I got a great education at Merrimack High School, then BU, and I feel privileged to have all these opportunities open to me,” Snow said. “Now I’m thinking about other people who don’t have those opportunities in other parts of the world.”

Snow and Callahan, a California native, hatched the idea for Achieve in Africa after Callahan’s trip to the continent last summer. He saw distressed schools and a lack of educational opportunities.

This fall, the pair started talking about how to they could help. Using resources at Boston University, they started filling out paperwork to form for an official nonprofit, which was approved in January, Snow said.

At the same time, Callahan used some of his contacts abroad to locate schools that would be interested in their sponsorship. Olasiti, Snow said, provided sound estimates and specific needs, and has built a good relationship with their organization.

Based on contractor estimates, Olasiti needs $30,000 for two classrooms. Any extra funds raised would go toward supplies, such as desks, chairs and books, Snow said.

Eventually, Snow and Callahan hope to grow their efforts to help other struggling schools in Africa.

“We’re really passionate about raising this money and being able to help out in the future,” she said.

To donate or learn more about Achieve in Africa, visit www.achieveinafrica.org.

Karen Lovett can be reached at 594-6402 or klovett@nashuatelegraph.com

“I got a great education at Merrimack High School, then BU, and I feel privileged to have all these opportunities open to me,” Snow said. “Now I’m thinking about other people who don’t have those opportunities in other parts of the world.”

Snow and Callahan, a California native, hatched the idea for Achieve in Africa after Callahan’s trip to the continent last summer. He saw distressed schools and a lack of educational opportunities.

This fall, the pair started talking about how to they could help. Using resources at Boston University, they started filling out paperwork to form for an official nonprofit, which was approved in January, Snow said.

At the same time, Callahan used some of his contacts abroad to locate schools that would be interested in their sponsorship. Olasiti, Snow said, provided sound estimates and specific needs, and has built a good relationship with their organization.

Based on contractor estimates, Olasiti needs $30,000 for two classrooms. Any extra funds raised would go toward supplies, such as desks, chairs and books, Snow said.

Eventually, Snow and Callahan hope to grow their efforts to help other struggling schools in Africa.

“We’re really passionate about raising this money and being able to help out in the future,” she said.

To donate or learn more about Achieve in Africa, visit www.achieveinafrica.org.