Fidea, a Bridge between Tanzania and Japan

Work with St.Cousair

The winery restaurant St. Cousair is located on a small hill in the town of Iizuna, Nagano Prefecture. As soon as you step into the restaurant, the vineyards and vast landscape outside the windows spread out in front of you. As you are mesmerized by the view that seems to float in the air, you hear the welcoming voice of the staff saying, “Welcome! If you hear one of the most cheerful of these voices, that’s Fidea.

It has been more than a decade since Fidea started working at the restaurant, and many people are amazed by her fluent Japanese. She speaks to everyone with a smile and makes you feel at ease. . . There is no end to the customers who are attracted to Fidea and keep coming back to the restaurant. At wedding receptions, Fidea appears balancing on her head a freshly baked cake made by the patissier. That’s the moment when the nervous bride and groom and their guests break out into big smiles. . . There is always a cheerful atmosphere around Fidea.

Profile

After graduating from high school, Fidea served in the Tanzanian military for a year and then became a teacher at a home for mentally and physically handicapped children.
In 1996, she married Kazushige Kobayashi, who was posted to Tanzania as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, and came to Japan.
In 1998, she started working at the St. Cousair Winery Restaurant.
In 1999, she founded the Songea Women and Children Support Organization (SWACCO) with her mother and sister to support AIDS-infected orphans in Tanzania.
In 2010, she established the Mwangaza Foundation, a non-profit organization, to continue supporting orphans in Tanzania.

Our Activities

2009　Charity jam produced by Fidea released by St. Cousair.
2010　Received a letter from Tanzania.
2012 July　Completion of a well at the planned orphanage construction site in Tanzania and placement of a hand pump.
2013 Oct　Began construction of an orphanage in Songea. Fidea visits her hometown.
2013 Nov　Charity Jam project wins the 10th Japan Partnership Award.
2014 Sep　Charity new product Fidea Pasta Sauce released by St. Cousair.
2016 Feb　Annual charity event “Pole-Pole Concert” held.

About NPO Mwangaza Foundation

Mwangaza means “light” in Swahili.

MISSION

Based on our compassion and support for Fidea’s generous activities for Tanzanian orphans, we aim to create a future in which all children are equal and can live without losing sight of the light of hope, while valuing our partnership with the local people.

VISION

We will build an orphanage for the increasing number of AIDS-infected orphans and children without relatives in Tanzania, and provide support for the operation and maintenance of the orphanage. We will also continue to support the development of these children so that they will have the physical strength, motivation, academic ability, and employment skills to become independent without depending on aid.

Through activities to deepen mutual understanding between Japan and Africa, we are involved in the protection of human rights and the environment, and providing opportunities for people to reevaluate their way of life and society.

Representative: Fidea Kobayashi

NPO Mwangaza Foundation Home Page