Meet Glory, Agape and Priska: three girls who would love to find sponsors! Could you help?

Have you ever thought about becoming a sponsor to a child in need, but perhaps have been put off due to wondering where your money might go? Or perhaps it seems quite daunting to send money for somebody who you do not know personally? Within the last few months, we have received three new girls who are in need of sponsors. The Small Things is very proud to have such a great sponsorship program in place, with 100% of the sponsors' money going towards the intended purpose, and ensuring that frequent updates are provided so that you can form a special bond with your child. If you would rather not commit to becoming a sponsor, we also have the option to make a one time donation, with the chance to add a note stating which child you would like the money to go towards. Sponsoring a child is a great way to support our work, open your family to a child without one, and develop an ongoing relationship with one amazing child.

Read on to meet our three new girls!

Glory

As you may have seen on Facebook recently, one of the three girls we are hoping to find sponsors for is Glory. Today is Glory's birthday and she has turned two years old! Becoming a sponsor to Glory would be the greatest gift: a huge benefit for Glory, and extremely rewarding for yourself.

Glory lived with her father until very recently when he became homeless and could no longer care for her. She is a sweet, shy girl who covers her eyes with her arms when she is overwhelmed, but sings and laughs once she relaxes. She has formed a beautiful bond with one of our current volunteers, and we are thrilled to see Glory so happy.

In addition to this, we have recently been able to hire her father as the guard at our volunteer complex. He is doing brilliantly, and is also learning English. Everybody loves him! We are very happy that we could assist him in such a way too. The complex where he works is just a short, five minute walk away from the orphanage, so he and his daughter are able to see each other very easily and continue their strong relationship.

Where will my money go if I choose to sponsor Glory?

Due to her age, Glory is residing at the orphanage. While we want our children to know and come to love their sponsors, we don't want to penalize children without one. Therefore, all sponsorship donations for the orphanage children go into a communal fund used to support all of the children's care and is spent in accordance with the immediate needs of the orphanage. However, any gifts or letters sent will go directly to your child.  

Click here to read more information on our Orphanage sponsorship program.

Or click here to sponsor Glory today!

Agape

Agape, who will be turning seven years old next week, is a very sweet young girl whose father abandoned the family before she was born, and has lived with her mother her whole life. She and her mother are both quite seriously ill, and she had to leave her school because of the stigma attached.

Her mother has requested that she live in the pilot house because she is so shunned in their area due to disease. It was very important to us that we listened to the wishes of her mother, and through continued discussion, we agreed that Agape would return to her mother every weekend. This set up is going really well so far, and both Agape and her mother are very content with the support being provided.

Where will my money go if I choose to sponsor Agape?

The Pilot House and Children's Village Projects are run by The Small Things, and our donors cover all costs for the children. While we want our children to know and come to love their sponsors, we don't want to penalize children without one. Therefore, all sponsorship donations go into a communal fund used to support all of the children's care, and children may have multiple sponsors. We will consider a child "available" for sponsorship until 200% of the sponsorship amount is met, and any overflow will be used to assist other children. However, gifts or letters sent will go directly to your child. 

Click here to read more information on our Pilot House sponsorship program.

Or click here to sponsor Agape today!

Priska

Sadly, a case of sexual assault has recently come to the attention of The Small Things.  Priska* is a 16 year-old girl from the Arusha region, who has now had to leave her village and her family because of the stigma attached to her experience of abuse. 

Unfortunately, in Tanzania and across the world, it is not uncommon for women who have been sexually assaulted to face isolation and rejection in their communities. Many have little access to services or support and go on to face homelessness, poverty and psychological problems.

Priska is currently living in Pippi House which is a partner non-profit that offers residential care to women and girls in similar situations.  Pippi House provides vocational training, medical care and psychological support. This gives those living there the chance to continue to learn and hopefully progress onto a job or higher education.

Priska is in need of sponsorship so that she can continue to live and learn there. Her care is currently being funded by The Small Things, but because she is not part of Nkoaranga Orphanage we are restricted to offering her temporary support. We would like to find sponsors to enable Priska to stay at Pippi House for the rest of her education (approximately 2 – 3 years), by which time she will hopefully be in a better position to move forward with her life.

We would love to assist Priska, and we believe that Pippi House is the best place for her to be. Her future should not be ruined by the acts of those who attacked her. We hope to find sponsorship so that she may build her confidence again, receive the vital support and friendships she needs, and flourish as an independent young woman with ambition and education.

(*name changed and detailed information restricted for purposes of anonymity)       

Where will my money go if I choose to sponsor Priska?

We currently support several outreach families through our program, and in extenuating circumstances provide outreach services to young adults in need. Since each situation is different, they each require a different amount of monthly support, as you can see in the descriptions. Donations for Priska will go towards the living and learning expenses that are required for her to stay at Pippi House. However, you can always choose to give more and split it between a few recipients! 

Click here to read more information on our Outreach sponsorship program.

Or click here to sponsor Priska today!

After reading the profile's of our three newest children, perhaps you have a few more questions?

What will I receive by becoming a sponsor?

Sponsors receive twice-yearly updates with photos and videos, and a letter detailing your child's progress. 

What can I do from home for my sponsored child?
Sponsors are also encouraged to send letters, birthday or holiday presents, and can track their child's progress through our website and Facebook page.

How much does it cost to sponsor a child?
We have five levels of sponsorship available. These are:

• Rafiki (Friend) sponsorship: $15 or ₤10 per month covers your child's toys, games, trips off the property, and medical care.

• Mualim (Teacher) sponsorship: $30 or ₤20 per month covers your child's day preschool, plus buys books for the orphanage.

• Shangazi (Aunt) or Mjomba (Uncle) sponsorship: $50 or ₤30 per month covers your child's food and vitamins.

• Mzazi (Parent) sponsorship: $75 or ₤50 per month covers the mama's salaries and the child's housing and clothes.

• Shujaa (Hero) sponsorship: $150 or ₤100 per month covers all of the above! Shujaa sponsors can also choose to help cover our administrative and other costs by adding on an additional amount per month.

If you think that you could be a part of helping any of our children, please follow the links provided above in their profiles, or click here to visit our full website with details on all our children. Don't forget, we also have the option to make a one-time donation, just add a note with the name of the child that your money is for.

Thank you from all of us at The Small Things for anything you are able to give to help build a future for these wonderful children.

Happy Family Children's Village - in memory of Amir Visram

Today we have announced some really wonderful news. Shazi Visram, our new major donor, and her company Happy Family Brands (http://happyfamilybrands.com) will be funding the first round of construction of our children's village, now named Happy Family Children's Village in honor of Amir Visram (Shazi's father)!

The Children's Village has been our long-term hope for a while now, but we are thrilled to be able to get it started. Here's what our founder and Executive Director Bekka has to say about it all:

"In early 2011, I visited the most amazing place – a children’s village in Karatu, a remote area of Tanzania, where orphaned children were living, laughing, playing, learning, and creating families. This was after months of exhausting orphanage work, with children heading for boarding school at best once they aged out of the orphanage at 5. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so happy to be surrounded by thriving, healthy kids and simultaneously so terribly sad to realize that even this was so far out of reach for the children I love. I saw the faces of the one year old Zawadi and three year old Saimoni who I’d fallen in love with, and my heart clenched at the thought of them leaving a warm and loving place, albeit an orphanage, and ending up alone and scared in a boarding school bed, isolated from everyone they had ever loved. I remember tearing up, thinking how desperately I wanted to be able to give this to our children, and how frustrated and helpless I felt in the face of that need and my inability to help. It literally took my breath away. 

Bekka in 2011 with Pray (left) who now lives in the Pilot House and Saimoni (right) who now lives at home with her. They were both three at the time.

Three years later, a lot has changed. I’m living in Tanzania with my husband, and that one year old baby is our silly and sassy four year old daughter, and that quiet boy is our sweet, smart, funny six year old son. For the last year I’ve been on the ground running TST, working with the orphanage and expanding our outreach program to keep kids in families whenever we can. That visit to Karatu inspired us and showed us what was possible, and we’ve been working towards the goal of creating a family-style children’s village ever since, to give the other amazing kids we work with the closest thing to a family we can provide.

The view from the Children's Village site

But until very recently, the village seemed like a far off dream – we had bought our land and were steadily raising money, bit by bit, to begin construction. Meanwhile the children I had seen enter the orphanage as babies, literally hours after their mothers had passed away in labor, were starting pre-school. The one and two year olds whose diapers I had changed in 2010 were getting ever closer to that 5 year old boundary, where they’d have to leave the orphanage and start over somewhere new. The clock was ticking and I had no idea how to give these children what they desperately needed, families – or the closest substitute we can create.

That was before we met the Shazi Visram, her family and her company Happy Family Brands. The last weeks have been a real whirlwind - thanks to their incredible vision and kindness, we will soon be able to begin work on the Happy Family Children's Village, in honor and memory of Shazi's father, Amir Visram, a Tanzanian native who brought his family to America for a chance at a better life. The family has chosen this route to honor Shazi’s late father, in memory of his dedication to the orphaned and vulnerable children of Tanzania. Now, we are fully funded for phase one of construction, which will eventually be sufficient to house up to 40 orphaned children!

Obviously, the main beneficiaries of all of this are the children – but I don’t think words can possibly begin to say how this gift has changed my life as well. I no longer lie awake at nights worrying about what will happen to our kids. I have been able to let go of some of the terrible guilt of not being able to adopt them all, knowing that they will be loved and cared for, and stay in close contact with the mamas who have adored them since they were babies. I have finally been able to relax a tiny bit, working 40-50 hours a week instead of my prior 60+, knowing that we are no longer alone in creating these children’s future. This partnership has been a gift in every sense of the word – financial, yes, but also emotional. This is not just the construction of some houses – we are building families and a future for children who didn’t have either. As I tiptoe in at night to kiss my own babies on the cheek, I have to pinch myself to remember that this is not just a beautiful dream. All of our small efforts with great love, like Mother Theresa says in the quote that our name comes from, have come together and created something far bigger than any of us could have imagined alone. And I am so, so grateful."

The rest of the board would like to echo Bekka's grateful thanks...and so would the children:

Thank you! Why not make a gift today to keep this incredible momentum building?

Guest Blog: Amy B. Fontaine

Amy with Shujaa

This week we have the pleasure of hearing Amy Fontaine's thoughts about her time volunteering at Nkoaranga Ophanage from October to November last year: what she had anticipated it being like, her experience whilst there and the children's 'sheer-kidness'! I am excited to share it with you all.  Amy's descriptions capture life at Nkoaranga so well making it a joy to read!

"I had no idea what to expect when I came to Nkoaranga in October of 2013. I had been out of the United States many times but never to Africa. I had taken a leave of absence from teaching at my independent New York school to come and volunteer at the orphanage. I wanted more than anything to step outside my Brooklyn world and meet the children that could, I suspected, do more for me than I ever could for them. All the while I was acutely aware that I was not 18 or 25 or even 30, as so many volunteers were. I was past 50, and I had made a major life change in order to do this. And I wanted to do it right.

Anything that was hard or scary or different in the beginning evaporated quickly in the face of the mischievous laughter of Pray and Queen; the older-than-their-years solemnity of Loveness and Shujaa; the pudgy, face-splitting grins of Isaac and Peace; the sweetness of Angel and Lulu, Hope and Frankie; the insistent neediness of Brighton, Vicky and Shalom. I had been worried, that first day when Bekka was taking me around the orphanage and introducing me, that I would struggle to learn the children’s’ names.  But I knew them all within a few days, as their personalities became known to me, as I played with them in the yard, changed their diapers, helped them eat, marvelling at how they helped each other, leaned on each other –their sheer kid-ness!

Amy with Zawadi (left) and with baby Lulu  on her last day (right)!

My first early morning shift: lots of freshly bathed naked little guys, swirling in the 6 a.m. darkness, needing diapers, clothes, shoes. I wasn’t sure I could help in all that busyness! What were they asking me? What did they need? But I tried to dive in, marvelling at how self-sufficient the children were, yet how much help everyone needed, all at the same time.

As the days went on, the work at the orphanage took on a rhythm and flow for me. The mamas were incredible. They were loving and calm, despite being busy. They didn’t get ruffled. They rarely needed to raise their voices. The children loved them, wanted to please them, wanted to be with them. I was lucky enough to be able to spend time with Teacher Emerte in the schoolroom. As a teacher myself I recognized how gently and effectively she taught them –she held them in the palm of her hand. I got a bit braver. I taught them some songs: The Wheels on the Bus, Going to Kentucky, Where is Thumbkin? I knew I was going to do ok during one of my first night shifts. After the kids were in bed I could hear the older ones, talking, whispering, murmuring themselves to sleep. They were singing too. They were singing The Wheels on the Bus to each other! I couldn’t stop smiling.

Amy with Teacher Emerte (left) and running her own class in the Nkoaranga school room (right).

One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was go home two months later. I miss the children and the mamas every day. Thank you, Nkoaranga. I was right: I got more from you than I could ever hope to give."

Guest Blog: Emily Butler - 6 Months Alcohol Free for the Nkoaranga Children

As you heard about on Facebook, the incredible Emily Butler has been undertaking a lengthy fundraising project for us - six months, in fact! Returning from her third time volunteering at Nkoaranga Orphanage in September, she decided to really go the extra mile (or month!) in raising money for the children she cares about so much in a very inventive way - she decided to give up alcohol for six months, with all donations going towards us!

When Hope became ill, she decided to dedicate the money raised towards her care, with any extra money raised going to the care and support of any future children who need it.  She is so close now to completing her goal and half a year of dedicated fundraising has really paid off - she has raised £471!  With just 10 days to go, please consider donating to this very worthy cause and support Emily in supporting Hope.

Click here to sponsor Emily - thank you!

Emily Butler with baby Hope in the summer of 2013

"One question that I keep being asked by everyone is, ‘Why alcohol?’ So here’s my answer:

I just want to start by saying that I am not addicted to alcohol. I’m a student, and drinking alcohol kind of comes with the title. Before I did this fundraiser, I was about to go into my final year of university so I knew I needed to focus. I spent my summer in Nkoaranga, introducing my family to those beautiful children and having the most amazing time. When I came home I felt, as I always do when I come back from NK, a little lost. Being in Nkoaranga can be like stepping into another world. Everything is so different and yet you feel right at home. The children mean so much to me and I couldn’t bear having to say goodbye to them yet again. So, when I came back to England, I decided I wanted to raise some money for them, as a way of me helping them from all the way over here; a sort of connection.

  

The amazing children of Nkoaranga Orphanage; the motivation for Emily to give up alcohol for 6 months

So, as I said, student = alcohol, final year = need to focus! And what better way to raise money for those beautiful children and to stop myself from procrastinating in the pub than to give up alcohol?

The second question I keep being asked is, ‘Why 6 months?’

The simple answer is that 1 month didn’t feel like enough of a challenge and a year just seemed crazy! So I went for the middle ground. I knew that by giving up alcohol for 6 months, I would be taking part in final year freshers, Halloween, bonfire night, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and end of exams all completely soberly. And boy, what a challenge it has been.

Christmas was my biggest worry. I don’t know about you, but our Christmas tends to be surrounded by the consumption of various types of alcohol: Mulled wine, gin and tonic, bailey’s, a nice bit of cheeky cava. I knew that the Christmas festivities were going to be my biggest obstacle and there were times, in particular when I was pouring out a glass of Baileys for my Grandma, when all I wanted to do was sneak into the kitchen and start swigging from the bottle. Pathetic or what? But, I stood strong. I even had to be careful about food; it’s amazing the amount of Christmas food that’s filled with alcohol. The amount of chocolate truffles I had to turn down because they were filled with rum. And that really is my idea of heaven: chocolate plus alcohol. Don’t get me wrong though, I still had an incredible Christmas. I was able to explore a range of soft drinks: Shloer, cloudy lemonade, lime and soda water. And all without the hangover! I did feel rather smug whilst my family moaned about their ‘slight’ hangovers on Boxing Day and I was sat there fresh as a daisy. Then it hit the evening and they cracked open the alcohol, again. I didn’t feel quite so high and mighty at that point.

Emily reading a story to some very eager children!

Needless to say, Christmas was a bit of a struggle. But this has been nowhere near as hard as I thought it would. I think I’ve just kind of gotten used to it now. Though, having said that, there really are times, in particular that past few frustratingly hard weeks of dissertation writing at university, when I’ve just wanted to be able to sink into the sofa with a nice glass of white wine and a good book. I have to say, that is something that I am really looking forward to. No matter how tempted I have been though, I haven’t touched a drop. I just think of the wonderful children and Mamas that I am raising this money for and the temptation for a nice cold cider is gone.

I have decided to donate the money I raise towards the hospital fees for Baby Hope. She has just come out of hospital, which I am so pleased to hear about, but is still under investigation, so the money you wonderful people have donated is going towards finding out what is making her so ill in the first place, and supporting her in keeping strong and gaining weight. Baby Hope has been through so much in her short life so far. She has had health problems from the start due to her being so premature. We were so pleased to see her improving and gaining weight, so it really came as a shock when she went into hospital at the end of 2013. But, that little girl is a fighter and is getting stronger every day. The Mamas have been incredible, as they always are, and Hope will be getting extra special care from Mama Fanuelli now that she is back home.

Mama Fanuelli taking excellent care of Hope

I want to say a special thank you to all of the wonderful people who have sponsored me in my 6 months  alcohol free fundraiser. You are incredible and your constant support and generosity warms my heart. 

Thank you so much for anything you can give! There is just one week to go; I can practically taste that glass of white wine waiting for me!"