Hoops for Loops PAIA

Our Goal, Vision & Commitment

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PAIA is an organization that is aimed at providing breakfast programs to schools in developing countries and school fee support to families with special needs children. Currently, we are focusing on low/no-income families that have children who have stopped going to school because of a lack of funds. Our aim is to offer assistance to these families so their children can participate fully in school without worrying about money.

PAIA also provides breakfast programs to schools in developing countries. Most children come to school hungry and find it difficult to participate or focus on learning. The aim is to feed all the children first thing in the morning and maintain a resource room at the school with non-perishable food items as well as school supplies.

At PAIA, we are committed to ensuring that every child is well fed and reaches their full potential.

In 2018, we partnered with the youth in Sudbury, Ontario to raise money to support families and schools in developing countries. The fantastic 6 basketball teams helped raise money which saw us starting a breakfast program in two schools in Zimbabwe. We also managed to pay school fees for students who had stopped going to school due to a lack of funds and poverty. Our breakfast programs created employment for people in the communities. Hoops for Loops has become an annual event since. Our last tournament in 2022 had 8 teams.

STYLE OFF is a hairstyling competition presented to you by PAIA. This competition is open to all Hairstylists and Braiders in Ontario. It is about showcasing your talent. We have 4 categories which are 45 minutes each. Each category is judged and the winner get a prize of $150. We have a grand winner who participates in all 4 categories and has the highest points. The grand winner receives a hairstyling package worth $250 in value plus $350 cash.

Our Team

Dedication. Expertise. Passion.

Founder/CEO

Tsitsi Mhende

Tsitsi Mhende founded Poverty Alleviation Initiative Africa (PAIA) in 2017 to help alleviate poverty in developing countries by making education accessible to school-age children. Presently, Tsitsi works as a high school teacher in an Indigenous community in Northern Alberta. While in Sudbury, Ontario, she sat on the Catholic School Council as a Parent Representative for 8 years. After graduating with a Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Psychology from Laurentian University, Tsitsi attended Western University and graduated with a Master of Professional Education, with a specialization in International Learning Degree. Tsitsi holds numerous other certificates including a Professional Leadership certificate, and Master the Entrepreneurial Skill Set certificate from Western University, and is a licensed Hairdresser through the Ontario College of Trades.

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Founder/COO

Tendai Mhende

Tendy Mhende, Founder/COO of PAIA, a not-for profit organization founded in 2014 to help alleviate poverty in developing countries. Tendy is a Realtor by Profession and is currently working towards getting a hairstyling certificate to open her own Salon in Sudbury, Canada. She possess vast professional skills from working in different organisations, i.e. excellent negotiation skills, customer services, analytical and problem solving skills. Tendy has worked as a Personal Assistant (Trust Bank), Human Resources Administrator (Hunyani Paper Mills), Procurement Assistant (Zimbawe Fertilizer Company), Marketing Manager (Spic and Span) and a Realtor in various Real Estate Agencies in Harare. She was also a member of the Harare Rotary Club for 2 years before she left the country.

Tendy ran the Operations side of PAIA in Zimbabwe up to 2019 when she left for Canada. While in Zimbabwe she managed to create partnerships with schools in rural Zimbabwe as well as piloting our breakfast program at Shongamiti school in Masvingo where she fed children from the school and community.

Tendy is a proud mother to two daughters.

Trustee

William Meers

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Trustee

Stephen Mudawarima

Stephen

Trustee

Dennis Beans

Dennis Beans FIC, CPCA, Financial Advisor with Knights of Columbus, the largest Catholic fraternal organization. As a member of Knights of Columbus as an Order, I'm involved in 15 councils charity events raising funds for the charity organizations and individuals, including Coats For Kids, Special Olympics, Hospice and Prolife initiatives. Currently, my service to the membership is to facilitate financial wellness, educate the importance of financial security, financial risks overlooked by families, and how to mitigate them. Certified advisor on Aging. I sit on the board of Emmanuel's Wish Foundation, a charity organization that has and runs an orphanage, a library, and hospice in South Africa.
On a personal level, Dennis is married with 5 children, and has been in Canada since 2006.

Trustee

Mthokozisi Dube

Mthokozisi Dube is a young vibrant lawyer based in Zimbabwe. He began being a progressively active member of civic society in High School as a member of the LEOs Club International, he remains a member of the international organization to date and is looking to transition to the senior arm of Lions Club International.
As a law student at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, he sat on the board of International Students at the institution from his first year till he left the university. He was also a member of the University’s legal transformation society which sought to align national legislation with institutional codes along with the national constitution to ensure substantive equality was achieved. The young man is a Golden Key International Alumni and has traveled across the world as an African ambassador pushing the agendas of the international society to ensure equality, access to education, and poverty issues are brought to the fore and tackled in communities surrounding him.
Post-university as a lawyer, he has retained a presence in pushing the vital agendas of poverty, education, and other challenges facing his immediate community. He is our legal liaison in how to tackle the issues affecting poverty and other facets of the organisation’s objectives.
Currently, Mthokozisi is involved in corporate advisory, freelance socio-political journalism, and private legal practice in Harare.

Join Us

Help send a child to school.

When a child is well-fed in school, they stay in school and participate.

Our Team

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