Last year, Brunswick resident and cancer survivor Tiffany Jones was about to fulfill her dream of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, at 19,341 feet.
Tiffany Jones at the Moshi Kids Centre in Tanzania, Africa. Courtesy of Tiffany Jones
Jones, who embarked on the trip with support from Grape-Nuts to raise money for cancer research, made it to about 15,000 feet when she became hypoxic (deprived of oxygen) and fell down. Fighting breast cancer at the time, she had to give up and descend down the mountain for her own safety.
Though it was devastating, she was eventually thankful it happened because it led her to what has become part of her life’s mission: helping students in Moshi, Tanzania.
“We never know where our mistakes might lead,” Jones said. “We never know when something that might be a failure leads to something that could be an opportunity.”
When she came down the mountain and made it to camp in Moshi, she learned about a local orphanage that helps students at the Moshi Kids Centre. She volunteered there for the remainder of her trip and realized she wanted to help the students any way she could.
“They have very little,” Jones said. “They don’t have materials or a computer or workbooks or pencils.”
When she came back the United States, she underwent chemotherapy. She also started a nonprofit, Patchworks, named after her parents, Jay and Meikle Patch, who both died of cancer, to collect supplies and encourage others to volunteer at the Moshi Kids Centre.
“I saw this beautiful opportunity to do service work at the school,” she said.
The chemotherapy was successful, and Jones is returning to the center in June to deliver supplies and volunteer.
A Brunswick High School special education teacher, Jones has been collecting basic school supplies through student donations. On May 21 from 1-4 p.m. at the Curtis Memorial Library, she will share her story to inspire others. She’s also seeking donations through a GoFundMe campaign, “Teachers in Tanzania.”
Students in Moshi are in dire need of laptops and cell phones; Jones said is trying to collect used devices.
She called her experience in Moshi “life-changing” and hopes it will encourage others to help. Jones is traveling to Moshi next month with her daughter and the mother of one of her students who was inspired to help out.
“It’s so important for me to create this opportunity for people to do what they never thought was possible,” Jones said. “The mission of Patchworks is to create opportunities for people to go to Tanzania and expand global citizenship and support teachers and students.”
Jones plans to return to Tanzania at least once a year, if not biannually.
“This is just the beginning,” she said.
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