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Rescuing
Children. Restoring Hope. Transforming Lives.
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Amani, located
at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, provides care and education for
nearly 300 street children and orphans in Amani's home and in the local
community. www.amanikids.org
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Where
Do Homeless Children Go When They Get Sick?
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Homeless children turn to Rovina for
healthcare on her weekly visits. |
Many of Rovina's coworkers
wonder when she ever finds time to rest. Rovina is Amani's
nurse and is responsible for the healthcare of all the children
who live at Amani. That's a lot of upset stomachs and scraped
knees!
In addition to running
the health program at Amani, Rovina also provides healthcare
to the children still living on the streets of Moshi and Arusha.
She works closely with our Street Educators, offering care
to children who otherwise would have nowhere to turn when
they are alone, sick, and scared. |
Rovina regularly treats skin infections, wounds from accidents and
fighting, chest colds, and STD's. She provides care for the children
she encounters on the street from a large black medical bag she
carries with her. So many street children have health problems that
she often runs out of supplies and has to go to the pharmacy to
buy more.
After faithfully offering
services on the streets for years, Rovina has become a familiar
and trusted face. When she arrives, homeless children run up to
her and tug on her hand, asking for help or bringing her to their
friends who are in need.
Making sure that children
receive care they can depend on is what Rovina enjoys most about
her job. "One of my most rewarding experiences was helping
a boy with severe burns over a large portion of his abdomen. He
was in great pain and could hardly walk. His friends brought him
to see me. I was able to get him help quickly." Amani brought
the boy to the hospital, and after three months of inpatient care
and support from Rovina, his burns fully healed. Amani was then
able to reunite him with his family and enroll him in school. Rovina
continues to provide medical care and advice to the children who
would otherwise have no where else to turn.
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Focus
on a Child - Daudi Amani
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Daudi Amani is a very
lucky boy. He has symptoms resembling autism and is unable
to speak. When he was three years old he was abandoned at
the bus station, taken by police, and brought to Amani. Children
with special needs in Tanzania are viewed as burdens on already
struggling families, and are often abandoned, neglected or
abused. Laws have been passed providing rights for people
with disabilities, but they aren't enforced consistently.
Without a home, the young boy's future was very grim.
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Daudi rides a camel for the first time with an Amani caregiver
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At Amani, Daudi was given
a name ("David" in Swahili), attentive care, a nutritious
diet, and lots of love. The other children at Amani have responded
to him with tenderness, helping him at lunchtime, washing
his clothes, and putting an arm around him when they're together.
Daudi's become everyone's little brother.
With the help of a volunteer
special education teacher from the U.S., Daudi has learned
ten hand signs to communicate greetings, his needs and how
he is feeling. He is learning to recognize and write his first
name, to count and to identify shapes and colors. He even
enjoys helping the caregivers mop the floor - he loves water!
Daudi is now about 9
years old. He's a cheerful little boy and spends most of his
time smiling and laughing with the other younger children.
He is fortunate to have been given a chance to grow up in
a caring environment where he is loved and cherished - and
we're so glad that Daudi is a part of the Amani family!
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From
Massachusetts to Moshi: Lending a Helping Hand
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Helping Hands Tom and Leslie
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Helping Hand sponsors
make it possible for Amani to reach out to homeless children
in a sustainable way and give them a future filled with hope.
Tom and Leslie Cocks have been Helping Hand sponsors since
2004.
Tom and Leslie first
learned about Amani when our director Valerie Todd gave a
video presentation to a small group of her hometown friends
and neighbors. As Valerie spoke about Amani, Tom and Leslie
knew they wanted to become involved.
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"We were
deeply impressed by the emphasis Amani places on teaching the
children how to make a living in their own culture, not trying
to westernize them."
Tom and Leslie find it rewarding to see the impact their financial
support makes in Tanzania. "Most important is seeing not
only how the children's physical needs are being met but how
much they are all loved at Amani," Leslie says. "In
every photo we've seen of the children at Amani, the children
seem to radiate joy. That's very different from other homes
for orphaned children."
Tom and Leslie live in a small town in Massachusetts with their
older son Daniel, 20, their daughter Rebekah, 16, and their
younger son David, 11. Tom is the senior director of an internet
software company; Leslie is a stay-at-home mom.
From all of the children and caregivers at Amani, we'd like
to say thank you to Tom and Leslie - and all of our Helping
Hand sponsors - for their important role in caring for Tanzania's
most vulnerable children! Thank you. |
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Amani
Online: YouTube, Facebook, and the Brand New Video
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you, we believe that it's everyone's job to help children in
need. One way to do that is by raising awareness about Amani's
work. British filmmakers Blain Fairman and Stephen Mowatt have
made a video that tells the story of Amani's work with homeless
and orphaned children in Tanzania.
The video introduces
the Amani children in a powerful new way, making their stories
of new hope come to life. It was narrated by British actor
Jason Flemyng and provides a snapshot of life on the streets
in Tanzania and the transforming work of Amani Children's
Home.
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You can find the new
Amani video on the Amani Children's Home webpage [www.amanikids.org]
as well as Amani's new YouTube channel [www.youtube.com/user/amanikids].
Also, we've begun posting
new video clips each month about the children's lives around
Amani. You can watch the video journal on our YouTube channel.
[www.youtube.com/user/amanikids].
This month you'll get a look at how the Amani children like
to spend their time after school. Watch Amani's first video
journal- "Amani Kids at Play". [www.youtube.com/watch?v=0taQ53LRUCo]
You can also find Amani Children's Home on Facebook now!
Raising awareness can be as simple as sending the video link
to your friends, and sharing about Amani with the people you
know. Thank you for your continued support of the Amani children.
We're grateful for everything you do.
Special thanks to
Aaron and Christina Whitesel for their contributions to this issue of
the Amani Children's Home newsletter!
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