Orphanage in Bukoba
About the Bukoba Orphanage
There
are numerous orphans in the Bukoba area due to the large amount
of HIV/AIDS related deaths. The majority of AIDS victims are women
between 20 and 40 years. The next biggest group is men of the
same age. Most of the people dying of AIDS are leaving kids behind.
There are sponsored orpanages and organisations that take care
of orphans in Tanzania but the number of kids without parents
is more than the system can handle. The orphanages are full and
turning children away. Many kids who've lost their parents end
up living in the streets without food, shelter, health care, education
or chance for a future.
Mrs. Khadija Khalfan is an elderly woman who takes in kids that
have nowhere else to go. Mama Khadija started
the Nusuru Yatima Orphanage in Kashai, a poor district on the
outskirts of Bukoba, in 1998 when she lost her first daughter
to AIDS. She took in her grand-daughter Fauzia Hussein, who was
seven at the time. "My grand-daughter had no father, I was
to take care of her. Then my two brothers passed away due to HIV
AIDS who left seven kids who I took care of. From that time I
saw many orphans moving around in the streets of Kashai. I felt
concerned and wanted to help them. I decided to use my own house
and invited them to stay with me. It has been difficult to get
assistance, but with God's help we have survived." There
are currently 57 children living in the orphanage.
How
Do We Help?
In March of 2006 we collectively decided to support the orphanage.
It was decided to renovate the orphanage: build toilets, showers,
beds, school desks and benches and to renovate the kitchen. We
hired a kindergarten teacher and a tailoring teacher. We also
started visiting the orphanage with tourists as a part of our
community tours. The income and donations generated with this
is used to run the project.
A dormitory for the boys was recently constructed
but is not yet finished. The girls sleep in Mrs. Khadija's house.
The buildings have electricity and there is a tap outside with
running water. There is a classroom in the boys dorm where the
young children attend kindergarten. The older children go to a
primary school. There is a fairly large yard for the kids to play
in. They have a cow that provides enough milk for the babies and
some extra to sell. They also have three sewing machines for the
girls to learn to sew to bring in some income. Mama Khadija and
Nurudya Musa, who also lives at the orphanage, are the two primary
caregivers. Fauzia, the grandaughter, also helps out with much
of the work and people in the village come by and assist when
they can.
What Can You Do?
You can visit the orphange as a part of one of our community tours.
We
need your help. We are asking for donations of clothing, school
supplies and most importantly money to buy food.
You can sponsor a child in the orphanage for USD 27 or
Euro 21 per month! We will send you a picture of the child
and you are able to correspond with the child by letter. You are
of course also welcome to visit the child.
We welcome your help in the form of donations, time, or ideas.
Please contact us at info@kiroyeratours.com
This project is part of the Heritage Initiative,
which is a registered Tanzanian charity. Certificate #54239 registered
October 17, 2005.
Name of the account: Heritage Initiative
Bank Name: National Bank Of Commerce ( NBC)
Bukoba Branch
Account Number: 027103002029
Swift code: NLCBTZTXXXX
