Jean Pruitt

She worked with the Maryknoll Sisters and the Roman Catholic Church of Tanzania from 1969, and she received several awards for her contributions to Tanzanian society and culture.

In 1958, she joined the Maryknoll Sisters in Los Angeles, and by 1967 she graduated from Mary Rogers University (New York) with a bachelor's degree in education.

She began her activity in Tanzania in the Catholic Relief Services, operating in favor of the healthy development of Tanzanian youth and children.

In 1992 she founded the Dogodogo Centre, an organization specifically established to support the increasing number of street children in Dar es Salaam city.

Through her many activities in support of Tanzanian art, and especially so after opening the Nyumba ya Sanaa, Pruitt discovered a number of talents that later received national and international acclaim.