Providing Inclusive Education in Tanzania

I'd like to take the time to share a story about one of our youngest donors:

Lieselore is only 7 years old. She fundraised 210 Euro by making and selling bookmarks, keyrings, cookies, and biscuits. She even donated all her allowance from houeshold chores.

Lieselore's incredible donation helped us to do some much-needed repairs at Amani. Her generous gift funded tiling the boy's dorimtory. This ensures our children's home is easy to keep clean and hygienic, even in the rainy season! Often times, when children have environments where they must worry about baser needs like food and clean bedrooms, their ability to study goes out of the window. Having a clean dormitory means they can focus less on their environment and more on their studies!

No matter how little you can do nor where you come from, if we work together, we can achieve great things!

Thank you Lieselore!

I'm sure you've heard the phrase before: It take a village to raise a child. It means that a child's development is a product of his or hercommunity. The people who we spend the most time with ultimately shape who we are as an individual. For those without a traditional family, the people who make up their community is even more instrumental in their growth and development.

With this in mind, we at Amani work to provide opportunities for disadvantaged kids to make meaningful connections with the environment and people around them for healthy socialization and educational stimulation.

Amani provides the children it supports with frequently opportunities to participate in educational outdoor activities. In October, the children went to a neighboring area to go bird watching. Armed with pencil, paper, and binoculars, they observed indigenous and regional birds alike. After the activity, some wrote stories about the birds while others chose to draw them.

On the weekends, back at the orphanage, short lessons are provided that cover a variety of topics. They include everything from personal nutrition to wildlife studies. Our kids learn where their food is grown, appreciate mother nature, and as a result, become insightful junior scientists.

Some of our older kids go to private school. Recently, J and A graduated primary school with honors. At private school, they have the opportunity to make connections with classmates and families outside the orphanage. The relationships they have built here are likely to last a lifetime.

What strikes me the most about life at Amani Orphanage is how normal of a childhood these kids are able to have. They do not need to worry about hunger, clothing, or lack of love. They have found a family in each other, in their classmates, in their caretakers, and in their community. They can run through open fields, play games, go to school, and grow to become responsible citizens in the future.

We have donors like you to thank for that. I said it takes a village; you are part of that village. You may have never met these kids or been to their country, but you have inevitably shaped their lives and future by providing them with the resources to lead a healthy and normal life. For that, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

- Amani Children's Orphanage