Part 1 - Update on the school kids

A massive thank you for all your support which allows all these kids to attend school!

Bethan with Tumaini (left), Eman kubwa (back right), Eman dogo (middle) and David (front right)

This week Bethan (above) writes about how they visited all of the school kids to find out how they were doing and, especially, to give you a long-awaited update on how our new four - Pendo, Andrea, David and Abdulli - are settling in!  This involved visiting Usa River Academy in Usa to see most of the school kids there, and to visit Abdulli in Tengheru, where he is staying with his family.

Tumaini (left) and Dainess (right) skipping/jumping rope

"So, the Usa visit was brilliant! So nice to see all of the kids! Emelie, Bekka, Riz, Mama Pendo and I went there two Fridays ago. The Nkoaranga kids suddenly ran up from nowhere! They must have all been playing together in some other place on the field. Olivia, a volunteer here from America (my friend) sent me with some skipping ropes which the children immediately wanted.  There were some Nkoaranga kids that I didn't know as they had left earlier than when we were first there but nonetheless they were still so friendly."

"They all spoke very old English, particularly Tumaini! But it was impressive to hear Andrea, David and Pendo who have only been there since January also immediately speak English. They all seemed very happy and it was lovely seeing them all together with strong bonds just like when they were in Nkoaranga.  They all looked very smart in their uniforms.  Mama Pendo brought a suitcase of new woolly hats and jumpers that had been donated and which the kids all loved and crowded round to receive.  A couple of kids came running to the car as we were leaving to see if we had any left - luckily we did!  The school grounds are beautiful and there is so much green grass and outdoor space for them to run around in. As we left, they were all going back to their dormitories. I hope to visit again before I leave in 3 weeks."

Left to right: Andrea, Eriki, David, Pendo, Dainess and Stevie

Dainess, Tumaini and David in their hats

"Unfortunately the SOS children's village visit to see Gracie, Farajah, Aroni and a couple of other Nkoaranga kids was unsuccessful. We arrived to find that very recently they have brought in a new policy where we have to make an appointment to visit any of the children, which never used to be the case. The secretary was not prepared to make an exception, so although we had made the journey especially to see the children and came so close, we were not allowed any further which was such a shame."

"Later at day, we met with Abduli and his father in Tengheru where we then drove to where they stay. They have just one room for Abduli, his father, stepmother and their other young son.  The father spoke of the few problems they are having such as the tiredness he faces everyday having to get up at 5 to journey into Arusha to drop Abduli in at school and then back again later. The Small Things do pay for the transport costs but the time it takes out of the day to get to Arusha twice means that they lose out on some money from their salon. Additionally, Abdulli is wetting himself every time he sleeps, including any naps he has at home. This is a problem as it costs extra to boil water to wash him twice or three times a day. He is still having some problems with being violent and hitting at school."

"Despite these issues, they are determined to keep Abduli with them in their family at home, which is brilliant. They want to work through the problems which we of course will help with wherever possible, as long as Abduli stays with them. They seem like a very strong unit.  Abduli spoke of his best friend at school which was lovely to hear about and he wrote his name down for us in a notebook.  He is enjoying it.  But we will talk and look into other options like a closer school, and also speak to the school about how they are managing the students and just get their opinion on how Abduli is doing."

Mama Pendo with some of the many kids she has raised and who were delighted to see her!

We will continue to monitor how all the kids who are at school with your help (THANK YOU!) are doing and to help out wherever we can, and keep you updated!  We have lots more pictures of individual kids that we will share with you all on facebook - there just wasn't room for them all here!  Thank you, Bethan!

Parties and playing

The internet has been an elusive creature for the last week or so... power outages seem to magically time themselves precisely for my arrival in internet cafes. It's downright uncanny. That said, I have a lot of exciting news (and, as always, adorable photos) to share.

One of Mama Pendo's oldest with one
of the youngest!

Last Saturday we had a real treat – a local community development class graduated and held their ceremony at the orphanage. They provided a HUGE meal, and thanks to your donations, we were able to supply transportation for a number of older kids to come back to Nkoaranga from the places they are currently living. We had a group from USA River Academy (the kids who are enrolled with TFFT), as well as a group from SOS Children's Villages, which included Farajah and Aroni! We also had some kids from SOS who had been at Nkoaranga 16, 18, or even 20 years ago, when the orphanage had JUST gotten started, and was mostly just Mama Pendo in a small building next to the mortuary trying to take care of a few abandoned kids! Needless to say, it was fantastic to see them all back – and SO much fun to see the reunited kids playing together. It reminds you how much they really have grown up as siblings – being separated is difficult for them, and they are thrilled to be back together. Zawadi in particular jumped on Farajah and refused to be moved for most of the rest of the afternoon, even to come to me! She missed her “little mama.” All the kids also loved the cake – especially Neema, who ate four or five pieces!

Neema blissed out on cake 

Mama Cantate with Wema, Farajah, Pendo, and Aroni

Stevie with the memory book I made for him
with the help of many former volunteers' photos!

Ericki with his memory book 

The USA River Academy kids performing 

Overall, the day was wonderful – a pleasure to see all the kids, to see their excitement at the improvements in the orphanage (especially the playground!), and to see Mama Pendo honored for her many years of hard work.

Adam with Loveness
(top) and Baracka

Riz and Simoni

Adam and Riz have both arrived, and the micro-grants project is in full swing. In the last two days they've already done eight interviews, and are off today to (hopefully!) polish off the rest. Although many families just want chickens or other basic livestock, a few have really creative ideas – and we're hoping that bringing these families together will allow them to collaborate and share ideas and resources. The first class is later today - we will keep you updated on how it goes!

Adam and Neema

Of course, not all the time is dedicated to work on the grants project... Adam and Riz have also been loving their time with the kids, and vice versa! The kids are always so excited to meet new people, and especially when those people are “cool guys” - they don't have much exposure to positive male role models, so we are thrilled to give them a few. If nothing else, they love being thrown, flipped, and turned upside down – and the guys have been happy to oblige, and tire a little slower than I do!

Peace

Shujah and Peace are working on crawling, although they are currently most talented at spinning in circles on their tummies. Ebenezer and Neema are growing and thriving, and are now both sharing their beautiful smiles with us! Poor Ebeni was a little off this morning, and he seems to generally struggle a bit with digestion – we are hoping that the gentle preemie formula coming over with Claire, Dorothy and Patty on Sunday will help soothe him a bit! Neema continues to be a little stunner and captivate everyone when she bats those big brown eyes.

Neema

Filipo took his first steps last week, which was incredibly exciting. We had all been trying to coax him towards it for a while – but of course, it was Mama Pendo who finally got him to make the move. I swear she has baby magic. As soon as he got up, he hasn't looked back! Frankie is now all alone sitting on the floor – although even he took a few steps last week. Unlike Filipo, however, that hasn't tempted him towards full-time walking. He still prefers to be carried everywhere, and bawl loudly if that desire isn't immediately satisfied!

Mama Marie and Frankie

It's also been a huge pleasure to hang out with Marie and her mom - their donations have and continue to be thrilling and hugely helpful. Special thanks to the big, beautiful box of gorgeous organic kids' clothing from . As you can see, the kids also enjoyed just playing in the bags it was brought over in! They've also taken on the very exciting project of rebuilding and expanding the chicken coop - it is about half done and will be fully finished soon, allowing the kids to eat meat at least once, often twice a week! Huge progress.

Marie and Neema

Mama Pendo, Marie and the clothes donation

Ebeni and Frankie playing in the suitcase

Half finished new chicken coop

 And now, just a few of my favorite shots from the last week, because why not?

Beautiful Ebenezer

Me and my baby girl!

Coming up: A Wednesday kids' safari to the Arusha snake park and Mount Meru Game lodge, the arrival of Dorothy, Patty, and Claire, and a report from the first grants class. Stay tuned!

All kids are thriving!

We're very happy to do yet another post about how all of the Nkoaranga kids are thriving! The babies are growing, the toddlers are running around singing and dancing, and the school kids are in the top of their classes at school! 

On saturday, Bekka, Mama Pendo and I went to Usa River Academy School were we with the help of The Foundation For Tomorrow and our great sponsors among you we were able to send Ericki, Dianess and Steve last year. Many older Nkoaranga kids are also at the school, and everyone was very excited to see us and came running at Mama Pendo with big hugs.

We were able to visit all the different classes with Nkoaranga children in them and see their work and results. It was wonderful to see how all of the kids are doing really well and even have top spots in their classes - so proud! They were all very proud to show us their work and how well they could spell things and tell us what their favorite subjects were - everything from English, Swahili, math, geography to social studies!


Other than doing really well academically the kids also seemed to be very happy and enjoying going to school. We were shown around the school and it is located in a beautiful area with lots of green, luscious  nature surrounding it and it is a great place for the kids to be staying.

At the orphanage all of the children are thriving as well! Filipo is now walking which is very exciting! Frankie still prefers to sit down or to be cuddled - however, I managed to get one step from him yesterday. Hopefully he will be walking on his own in no time! Kristina's beautiful home made dresses were handed over to the kids on Friday and they absolutely loved them! Great colors, adorable prints and pretty little girls to match them! The mamas very grateful as well and thought they were beautiful dresses! So for the past few days we have had colorful, happy girls running around the orphanage with these dresses on!

The orphanage also really appreciated all the shoes, thermometers, sheets, clothes, cups and plates that I brought for the kids that I have received from sponsors in Denmark. 


All in all, the kids and the mamas seem to be doing really well. I am so happy to be here again and I can't wait give you more updates on our work and how the kids are doing. In the coming weeks we will be joined by many other volunteers and we will start working on several projects. The installment of solar energy at the orphanage and parts of the hospital will begin and we are right now looking into expanding the chicken coop at the orphanage as well as expanding the kitchen garden.

Furthermore, our micro grant pilot project will run this summer and it will be very interesting to follow this project.  The mamas have shown their gratefulness for all of the work we have done at the orphanage and since it is very important to us, that we are working with the orphanage staff on what the orphanage really needs and how we can support them it is great to get such feed back. As an example of this, one of our current projects is providing all of the mamas with English lessons and they are enjoying this so much that they have requested to continue attending class for another few months!

My internet time is up - more updates should be coming soon from our current ground members!

Happy Birthday to Three Amazing Kids!

I'm literally JUST back from the US, where I had a lovely but all too brief sojourn visiting family and friends... and I'm still jet-lagged out of my mind, sadly, so this post will be short and sweet - in honor of three ridiculously fantastic kids and their birthdays.

Happy third birthday (on the 22nd) to our gorgeous, vivacious little ray of sunshine, Maureen! 

Maureen as a newborn

With her beautiful smile

In the center of it all,
with Miriam (left) and Neema

Happy fourth birthday (on the 20th) to our tank of a little man, Pray. Without the heroism of Mama Cantate, we might never have made it to this amazing day - we're so proud of how far you've come! Please see our page on "Light Up the Night" to learn about the fire that almost took this bright spark of a boy away from us - and how you can help us to to make sure it never happens again. 

Today, happy and gorgeous little boy!

Baby Pray just after the fire 

Last year, still half baby

And finally, happy sixth birthday (today) to our sweet, smart, and sensitive schoolboy, Ericki - now thriving at USA River Academy with the help of TFFT and his wonderful sponsors, the Butler and Al-Azawie families! Please check out the Education page to read about this upcoming year's students, and to find out how to help them reach their amazing potential.

Strong, confident little man this year

Ericki shortly after coming
to the orphanage

Silly boy last year - trying to get gum
 out of his hair with peanut butter!

 Ericki came to the orphanage as a toddler - his mother died at birth, but his father and grandmother had struggled to keep the family together for as long as they could. Ultimately the economic strain was too great, and they brought him to the orphanage for a better life, a heartwrenching decision. We are launching a pilot project this summer that will hopefully provide a helping hand to families in this type of situation, providing business training and micro-grants to families caring for orphaned children or single parents in danger of having to send a child to an orphanage, with the goal of helping them get on their feet and become self sufficient. More to come on this exciting project, I promise! 

My Return Trip to the Beautiful Nkoaranga Orphanage

It has now been almost two months since I returned to Nkoaranga Orphanage for Christmas and I still think about it every single day. It was, most definitely, the strangest Christmas I have ever had, but returning to Tanzania, was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I was so nervous before I left England, which wasn't made any better by the fact that, when I arrived at Heathrow, I discovered that I had been removed from my connecting flight, which resulted in me sitting in Nairobi for 4 hours on Christmas day getting more and more frustrated. All I could think was, 'Typical! Happy blooming Christmas'.

It all turned out to be worth it though because, seeing the kids again, was the best Christmas present I have ever received. Even as we drove from the airport to the village, I already felt as though I had returned home. I couldn't believe how big they had all gotten and the fact that they actually remembered me- even the toddlers remembered me.

The two weeks that followed were some of the most hectic and fun filled of my life and I wouldn't have changed anything about them.

One of the days we were there, we took the kids on safari to Arusha National Park, which was so much fun! The kids loved it; I've never seen anyone get so excited about seeing a buffalo. They were talking about it for days afterwards and it was so nice to know that we had been able to give them such a lovely memory and repay them for all of the love they show us every single day.

Before we returned to the orphanage, Bekka made a video filled with messages from all of the previous volunteers, including myself. I was so amazed by how well the children knew the video; they literally knew it word by word, right down to the amount of kisses I blew to them at the end of my video- it really shows how much they must have watched the video and that they actually do care about us, as we care for them. The children are all so loving and smart and beautiful- I cannot actually describe to you just how incredible they all are, and what amazing things they are going to do in this world.

It was such a relief to see how HUGE Ebenezer had gotten, as he had been so ill when we had left, but now, he is a right little character! All the babies had gotten so big, and the toddlers, and the big kids! Everyone!

It was lovely to see how the children are maturing as well. I honestly couldn't count how many times big David came running up to me to ask me if he could help me with what I was doing. Before I left, it was quite common to see David having some kind of a tantrum because he wasn't allowed to do something, but now, he is constantly smiling and laughing. Trying to help everyone around him - beautiful.

Abdulli has become a lot more confident as well, which is really nice to see as he had been so shy when we all left. But now, he is running about with all of the other kids and interacting with everyone a lot more than he was before. On a number of different occasions, he came running over to me to show me a toy or ask me for something- which was quite rare before.

It was lovely to meet the two beautiful babies at the orphanage- Peace and Shujah. Both so calm and happy- very settled and well looked after. This all just goes to show what a wonderful job the mama's do in raising those children, which is something I am eternally grateful for.

Seeing the mamas again was also really nice. There were so many funny situations when one of the mamas would walk into the room, see me and run over with a huge grinning, but also slightly confused, face, before they enveloped me in a massive hug. It's really nice to know that they do appreciate the work that we do at the orphanage and remember us all individually.

I don't know when I will next return to Nkoaranga, but I am so glad that I was able to go there one last time before the oldest children went off to school. On my last day at the orphanage, Stevie, Eriki and Dainessi all went to boarding school for the first time and I feel so lucky for being able to wave them off.

They were so excited to go, as we sat there waiting for the car to arrive, reading and playing for the last time before they went out into the big wide world. I'm so glad I was able to have that time with them, as well as the older kids who were returning to boarding school after their Christmas holidays- Eman, Tumaini, Asimwe and Nsima.

As TFFT's car pulled into the orphanage to take them to school, Dainessi, Eriki and Stevie all suddenly went very quiet and this look of fear flashed across their faces. Dainessi clutched onto my hand and looked up at me with this uncertain look on her face. So, I knelt down in front of the three of them and told them that school was going to be amazing. I told them that we loved them very much and were all so proud of each and every one of them. They turned to me and said 'shule, ni nzuri sana?' Meaning, 'School, it is good?' and I told them that school was very good and that they were going to love it. Then I hugged each one of them and told them that I love them and miss them every single day.

I then helped to load their cases into the car and Dainessi turned to me and said, 'I want to sit on your lap in the car', at which point Eriki and Stevie turned around with these annoyed looks on their faces and said, something along the lines of, 'No! I want to sit on your lap'- which I couldn't help but giggle at. Sadly I had to tell them that I couldn't go with them to the school, but they were going to have an amazing time and love every minute of it. Then I stood there, waving them off, desperately trying not to cry as they sat in the car with these massive grins on their faces, waving frantically back. I feel so honoured that I was able to take part in such an important part of their lives.

Whilst returning to Nkoaranga, I was also able to go and visit Aroni, Farajah and Wema; who are all at another facility called S.O.S Children's Villages. They have a very prestigious school, and these children were chosen to attend it as they are all extremely hard working. It was really lovely to see how happily they had settled in, as the last time I had seen Aroni, he hadn't been very happy, but this time he was happy to show off all of his new friends and the beautiful place that he was living at.

A video of the kids seeing me for the first time in six months

I'm thoroughly proud of all of the children- they constantly throw themselves into everything they do and they do it with a massive smile on their face. I am so lucky that I was able to see the children again as, like many other volunteers, I am constantly thinking about the wonderful time I spent caring for those children. Needless to say, they remember us all. The amount of times they asked me where the other volunteers were and if they loved them- something which I could honestly and happily reply to with, 'Yes, more than you could ever imagine.' The children have a way of working their way into your heart and permanently cementing themselves there. I've never met anyone like them and honestly didn't think it was possible to love so many people all at once. But, it is.

My trip back to Tanzania was perfect. Even more amazing than I ever imagined it would be. I am so grateful for the fact that I was able to spend two more weeks with them than I had before. I want to try and return there again, but unfortunately, I don't think it will be in the near future. So, for now, I will cling on to my Christmas memories; the days I spent laughing, singing, dancing, loving every minute I had with them. With those funny, crazy, loving, smiling, smart, beautiful children.

Happy Birthday Dainess!

Today is our gorgeous girl Dainessi's sixth birthday, and I thought it would be a good time to share with you some updates from their first month of school, and a few of my favorite Dainess moments. 

She's so proud of her missing teeth! 

Baby Dai

Dai has had a strong personality from day one, as is obvious from looking at any of the baby pictures we've been given by former volunteers. She is just the most confident, gorgeous, dramatic, LOUD little girl imaginable. One of the big problems with children from institutionalized care is often that they are withdrawn and don't express their needs, because they're used to them not being met. I've seen this in person in other facilities. We DEFINITELY don't have that problem at Nkoaranga - and what a beautiful thing that is! Dainess lets you know exactly what she's feeling, all the time - every thought she has shines straight through her face, which leads to some hysterical pictures. She loves attention and loves to perform. I absolutely cannot wait to see what this girl is going to do with her life - she is a force of nature.

From left: Ericki, Dainess and Stevie holding their presents

Dainess started school on January 9th, with Stevie and Ericki, at USA River Academy with the help of The Foundation For Tomorrow. Before they left, we wanted to give them a little something to keep with them. These were their first personal possession, the first items that had ever been just theirs - a book called "Lala Salama: A Tanzanian Lullaby." The book is mostly in English but tells the story of a day in Tanzania, and repeats the line, "Lala Salama, little one" - "Good night, little one" - throughout, along with gorgeous illustrations. We hope if they ever feel lost or scared or alone, they can hold those books close and know we love and miss them, every minute of every day - and we're so incredibly proud of how far they've come. Below are a few pictures taken by TFFT staff of the kids on their first night at school.

Wearing the PJs - Dai is giving us a look, not sure why!

The kids outside their new home, holding their PJs

Despite everything they've been through, they are so incredibly loving and trusting - a true testament to the incredible work that the mamas and volunteers have done with them over the years. I am and continue to be inspired by these kids' strength, smarts, and heart, every day. Happy birthday, Dainessi - I can't wait to see where this year will take you! 

Dainess saying (a slightly uncertain) thank you to her sponsor - my mom! 

None of this would be possible without the commitments of the kids' sponsors. A huge thank you goes out to this year's sponsoring families - the Harts, Goldbergs, Crisps, Al-Azawies, and Butlers. Please take a look at our amazing kids starting school next year, and see if you have space in your family and your heart for one more! Even if you can't make a long term commitment, please consider contributing towards their education fund - we'll need to raise two years' tuition for each child to get them enrolled, and every penny helps. 

On an unrelated but exciting note: take a look at how big and strong little Peace is getting! Such a long way from the premature little waif he was, and we couldn't be more thrilled.