AMANI CHILDREN'S HOME - www.amanikids.org We were so excited to finally arrive in Moshi - a town dominated by the looming presence of the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro. Although most people come to Moshi to spend a week climbing to the peak, we had come for another reason - to spend a week with the children at the Amani Children's Home. We drove up the bumpy, potholed track to the big blue gates of the children's home where we received a wonderful welcome from Mapunda, the Operations Manager, and over fifty children! Within minutes of parking Biggles there were little boys clambering on the bonnet and hanging off the roof rack! Valerie, Amani's Director, gave us a very warm welcome and was thrilled that we have, to date, raised over £3380. She showed us around the site of Amani, and told us all about the children Amani looks after. THE CHILDREN Amani cares for about 150 children. All of them have come from the streets of either Moshi or nearby Arusha and have had a traumatic start to life. Many are AIDS orphans whose grandparents could not look after them; some have run from abusive parents whilst others were thrown out of home after marriages split up. Whatever their reason for being on the street the children are all in the same position: they are vulnerable and taken advantage of. Many of the new arrivals at Amani have glue or drug addictions, several are HIV positive and almost all have suffered some form of sexual abuse. When we spent time with the children, as young as six, it was horrendous to think about the suffering these children have been through. If it wasn't for Amani, the only street children's home in Northern Tanzania, their lives would still be full of horror. The children are either brought to Amani by the police or through the Amani social worker who visits the street children of Moshi and Arusha each week. Once at Amani they are given food, shelter and healthcare then begins a process of trying to get the child into education. If the child is in the right state of mind he or she is sent to the nearby school, and if not 'non-formal' education is carried out in the classroom at Amani. At the same time Amani works hard to find the child a loving home - usually with extended family members. Valerie told us that this is successful for two out of three children who come through Amani's gates. When this does happen, Amani continues to support the child by paying for his or her upkeep, school fees etc and continues with health and social work care. There are too many children to mention by name who we have met and been touched by their circumstances. One little boy arrived a year ago and did not speak. Through time at Amani and the good work of the counsellors and social workers he has gained the confidence to say a few words and it was wonderful to see him playing with the other boys - and laughing. We would really encourage you to have a look at the Amani website to see the photos of each child and to find out their own story in the "Meet the Kids" section of www.amanikids.org AMANI'S HOME At present Amani rents a two bedroom house with a garden - the plot is small but they have managed to make it a lovely home for the seventy or so children they look after each day. One of the bedrooms is crammed with bunk beds where the children sleep three to a bed! The other rooms are classrooms, a meeting place, showers (only two for all the children), a medical room (a converted shower cubicle) and an office. Something we were very impressed by is how Amani works hard to ensure that the children are cared for in an environment that is as close as possible to a normal Tanzanian home. The children do all the gardening to grow vegetables and also look after the kukus (chickens) - all skills they will need when they live in the rural community. The food that they eat (beans, rice and ugali) is not only nutrional but also what they would eat if at home. They also wash their own clothes each day (each child has two sets). All these skills will help the children when they are taken into a family home - the overall aim and objective of Amani. Amani has now reached a critical point in its development. Whilst consistently giving great care to the street children of Northern children of Tanzania, space to house thes children has become a critical issue. Thanks to the hard work and determination of Valerie Jonson, Amani now has been able to secure enough funds to build a new, larger building, on a plot of land two kilometres outside of Moshi. This will mean that Amani will have the space and resources to cope with the ever-increasing issue of Tanzania's street children. We went to see the new plot and were overwhelmed at the size of the new area and the building which is in the very early stages. The space will allow for more, much needed bedrooms, classrooms, a dining area and play areas - including a football pitch and larger vegetable gardens. The new home will have the capacity to take up to a hundred children in less cramped conditions. This is great news for all the staff and children at Amani who really looking forward to moving into their new home later in the year. YOUR DONATIONS Through your generous support, so far we have managed to raise a staggering £3383 for the Amani Children's Home! This really is an incredible amount and we, along with the staff and children at Amani, would like to thank everyone so much for their wonderful support. As the children shouted as we left "Asante Sana kutokea Amani!" Amani really is a fantastic charity. Unlike a large, international charity that has fundraisers sitting in offices writing adverts back in London, Amani is a small, grass-roots charity that is making a huge difference. Amani adheres to strict accounting standards which are overseen by the international trustees of the charity. We saw with our own eyes where the money is going and can assure you that it is going to a worthwhile cause. At Amani a little really does go a long way. Here are just some of the figures: £12 feeds one child for one month £28 provides the medical care for one child for one whole year, or buys a desk and chair for the new building £56 buys a bunk bed for the new building £83 pays for the primary school fees including tuition fees, uniform and lunch for one child for one year £650 will furnish a whole room in the new building £3,383 our total will furnish five rooms, including beds, desks and chairs in the new building The challenge Amani now faces is predicting how much revenue will come in over the next few months. Valerie is thrilled with the amount that has been raised but now has the challenge of budgeting for the next year. "Each month our dilemma" she explains," is do we buy meat to give the children extra protein, or do we save the money for next month in case we can't afford to buy rice". To help them in this Amani has set up a direct debit programme called 'Helping Hands'. If you are interested in assisting on a regular basis please look at their excellent website, www.amanikids.org OUR VISIT The children really enjoyed our visit (almost as much as we did!), mainly because Biggles provided them with a new climbing frame! On one day we put our roof tent up which caused great fun and chaos...On our last day the children all drew pictures of the car and spent almost two hours drawing every detail, including the drivers, who they call "Mr and Mrs Muzungo!" (Mr and Mrs White Person!) With our limited Swahili, we were able to communicate with the children in different ways. We had great fun playing games and singing songs ("Jambo Buana" being a real favourite with all the children.) Rich took part in football practice and was taught new skills in goal keeping. In our short visit we got to know the children well and Camilla wished we could take them all home in the back of the Land Rover! We want to say a big THANK YOU to Valerie and all the staff at Amani for making us feel so welcome and a part of the Amani family. We really admire all the staff and volunteers for the incredible work that goes on at Amani and we feel inspired by their dedication. Anyone is welcome to pop in if you are ever in Northern Tanzania - and we really recommend you do!