Nkoaranga's Angels: Claire

This is one in a series of a few posts we're going to have honoring some really amazing people who've found ways to make a difference for the orphanage kids. This starts with Jordan and her wonderful grandparents. In honor of her beloved grandfather's passing, her grandmother has decided to ask for donations to The Small Things instead of flowers - what a beautiful way to honor his legacy. Lewis John Williams had fallen in love with the kids through the photos and pictures Jordan brought back from her trip. So far over £600 has been donated in his honor. There's more information and photos here. We wish all of your family love and peace in this difficult time.

Today we're talking about my incredible cousin Claire, who I'm thrilled to say will be joining us in Tanzania this summer. She knew she wanted to make a contribution to the organization before coming out, and after talking over the options, she chose to help us to raise money towards the tuition for one of the kids starting school in January. She fell in love with Pendo, Zawadi's older sister, who has had a rough time of it but is absolutely thriving now. For each child to start school, we need both long term sponsors to commit to a full, half, or quarter sponsorship for ten years ($1,100, $550 or $225, respectively) - and we also need two years of up front tuition so that if the sponsors were to drop out at some point, we have two years to find a replacement. As long as the sponsors stay enrolled, the money goes towards their last two years of schooling.

Happy Pendo!

(Shameless plug: We still need sponsors for David, Abdulli, and Andrea - please check out all the details on Project Education and consider whether you can spare as little as $19 per month for a quarter sponsorship to change a child's life.)

Donation cans 

Claire has raised £830, or over $1,300, towards that payment - and she's only fifteen years old! She managed to get her entire school involved, doing a series of presentations about the orphanage and about Pendo specifically. She also organized a talent show at her school, handed donation cans around, and worked with the administration to get a no-uniform day arranged to benefit the kids. It just goes to show how a whole bunch of energy can make an amazing difference, even without a ton of resources or training - good intentions and commitment are really all it takes. We're so proud and grateful, and I can't WAIT for Claire to meet the kids this summer!

Claire presenting

Talent show participants

We've been really lucky in the last few months to have some amazing people come forward with their talents and energy to create change for the kids. You'll be seeing more in this series! And if you want to become one of our angels, it's easy to do and we'd be thrilled to help you out with any plans you have. Coming up next: an amazing fourth grade class. Just you wait!