Everywhere I’ve visited on my solo journey has welcomed me with open arms. People have shared their culture, their food, their smiles and their homes with me around the world. Because of this, I have an undeniable desire to pay them back. Money seems to be the means of repayment that comes to mind first for their kindness but that’s not always sustainable or suitable for my situation. Maybe in the future. Next, is my time. I try to spend some time in places either volunteering, helping out in some small way, or simply listening to the stories of the people whose home I am visiting. When I got connected to the Global Orphanage in Arusha I knew I couldn’t give as much as I’d wish to financially, but I could give my time to visit, listen, and connect this beautiful mission to you all.
*I was given permission and encouragement to take these photos.
Before I left Minnesota for Tanzania I was connected to a really cool organization, based out of MN, called Simply Love International. Erin, another Minnesotan traveler like myself, stumbled upon Global Orphanage in 2014 while she was lost in Arusha looking for a coffee farm. What she found was a small Tanzanian family working very hard to support 19 children who had lost their parents or came from homes where living with their family wasn’t safe. Erin and her husband committed themselves to this orphanage and have since then taken in more children and expanded the orphanage by adding a small school house. This was all made possible because of donations, mostly from people in MN with big hearts.
When I was in Arusha I got the pleasure to meet Mac, who runs the orphanage here and coordinates with Erin while she is in Minnesota almost every day. Mac’s dad originally started the orphanage. Mac and the children welcomed me to the orphanage, gave me a tour, and I learned about what life is like in this little place and what projects they’re currently working on. The children introduced themselves with big smiles and they showed me a dance they had been working on.
Project #1: the school house:
With help from donations they were able to build this small school house for children in the orphanage along with underprivileged kids from the local neighborhood. It’s for preschoolers and kindergartners to practice their counting and letters before they enter school. There are two types of schools in Tanzania: Public and Private. Every parent wishes to send their students to private school but it can be costly. Simply Love International helps to give these kids a better shot in the private schools, but it takes sponsors and money. $450-$500 a year. University is even more, around $2000 a year. Right now this orphanage has 6 students who have reached university age and plan to enter this October if funding allows.
Project #2: The Cows
The orphanage purchased two cows, the children milk them every day and sell the milk in town. Cows are a good investment in Africa, but one of the cows has reached an age where it no longer produces milk. The orphanage is hoping to purchase another cow, and a small truck to bring corn husks from the fields to the cows so that they can eat more, and therefore produce more milk.
Project #3: Plumbing
A couple of years ago a very wealthy guest from Minnesota came to visit Global Orphanage and paid for a wall around the property and installed bathrooms. This worked very well for a couple of years but like any renovation project, they ran into some issues with maintenance. Currently, the shower is not working and the draining system is on its last leg.
Project #4: The Stove
I was made the most perfect cup of lemongrass tea by one of the older girls that lives in the orphanage. She just finished grade 7 and wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She made me this tea on a gas burner and I asked why they don’t use the stove. Turns out the stove doesn’t work, and hasn’t worked for a while. They’ll also use wood to burn instead of the stove top.
My time at the orphanage was short. Too short. If I wasn’t on my visa’s timeframe I would’ve spent much longer here. When it was time to leave they all gathered around me and each put one hand on me. At first I didn’t realize what was happening, then they all began to pray for me in Swahili. This moment put tears in my eyes. These kids have so little, their lives starting with the odds stacked against them, and they poured their hearts out in a prayer for my well being.
Mac and I took a short walk to the public school down the road, where Mac spent the first years of his own education. The month of September is a school holiday in Tanzania which was a bummer for me because I would have loved to stay and teach for a bit. Mac gave me a tour regardless, and something we discussed a lot was school lunches. Although public school is free, the lunches are not. Only about 100/350 students receive lunch at school. It costs $40 for a child to receive lunch for the entire school year. When the 100 students go to eat their lunch, the other 250 sit in separate classrooms and wait for their classmates to finish eating before they continue the school day. School goes from 7am-3:30pm, I know I would be very hungry by the end of the day and I can’t even imagine what this would feel like for a 7 year old.
Mac and I wrapped up our tour at the baby orphanage that is affiliated with Simply Love International and the Global Orphanage. I arrived during nap time, but I got to meet Joshua, the sweetest little guy. Joshua was born in December to a mother that couldn’t take care of him. The baby orphanage took him in, and with donations from Simply Love International they were able to hire a full time nurse for Joshua. When I met him he was a full, happy, giggling little man.
Joshua the day he arrived to the orphanage:
Joshua, only 9 months later when I met him:
There are a lot of NGOs in Tanzania. There are a lot of BIG companies from the US, the UK and Australia that aim to do good in Tanzania, and usually receive a big tax cut. A lot of times when such big corporations try to do good in small places the order of business becomes skewed and creates a perfect environment for corruption, ultimately only hurting the people they’re trying to help. Choosing an organization to donate to can be difficult, especially today where we’re seeing greed at an all time high. If you’re someone with the means and the heart to contribute to the well being of these children and want to make sure it actually goes to the children, I can promise you, first hand, that Simply Love International is the way to go. Like I said, I don’t have the means at this time of my life but I have the ability to share so I’ll start here. If you make a donation please let me know so I can thank you with a postcard from wherever I am. Small amounts, even $5-$10 make a difference.
Venmo for Simply Love International: @Simplyloveinternational
Facebook: Simply Love International (specific projects you can donate to posted here)
Instagram: @simplyloveint
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