Welcome Home

Opening January 2015

Welcome Home: Mission

A project dedicated to restoring the dignity and well-being of Tanzanian women and their children as well as their families and communities through accessible community education, transitional housing, foster care, and other support services.

Welcome Home: Vision

Welcome Home is a Walk in Love project that seeks to reduce the maternal death rate and the number of orphaned and abandoned babies in Tanzania by supporting mothers during their pregnancies and after birth. We believe that each child deserves to grow up with a safe and nurturing family. We believe that each woman deserves her right to accessible health care and education. We envision a Tanzania with healthy women and children, safe sexual health practices, strong and loving families, and supportive communities.

Welcome Home: 5 Phases

Phase 1: Research and Development

• Conduct research on local organizations with successful maternal health and foster care programs.
• Network with local organizations committed to maternal health, ending child abandonment, and fostering strong and healthy families.
• Develop a financial plan for Welcome Home, including the everyday maintenance of and monthly support for the WH programs.

Phase 2: Community Education

• Conduct informational courses for potential foster families.
• Conduct community educational courses on women’s sexual and reproductive health
• Identify foster families to take part in WIL’s foster care and outreach program.
• Identify young women to take part in the Welcome Home transitional housing program.

Phase 3: Licensing & Preparation

• Complete the licensing process necessary for the residential transitional housing program.
• Prepare Welcome Home house for residential program to begin.

Phase 4: Launching Welcome Home

• Begin the Welcome Home transitional housing program for young pregnant women and their infants.
• Begin village outreach and education in rural regions of Tanzania.
• Continued community education courses, as needed.

Phase 5: Foster Care Placement of Orphaned & Abandoned Babies

• Begin accepting orphaned and abandoned babies into Welcome Home program and placing them with trained foster care families.
• Continued support of foster care families.

If you are interested in becoming a WH monthly sponsor please use the 'Subscribe' button. If you are interested in a one time donation please use the 'Donate' button. All donations are tax deductible.

WH Monthly Sponsor Options

WH Monthly Sponsor : $25.00 USD - monthly WH Monthly Sponsor : $50.00 USD - monthly WH Monthly Sponsor : $100.00 USD - monthly WH Monthly Sponsor : $200.00 USD - monthly WH Monthly Sponsor : $300.00 USD - monthly WH Monthly Sponsor : $500.00 USD - monthly WH Monthly Sponsor : $1,000.00 USD - monthly

*UPDATE*

*From WIL FB post on September 12*

Update: Meet Riziki - Her favorite food is ugali and oranges! Her favorite color is pink!

WIL knew the need was very large for a place for pregnant girls to live but we did not expect just two days after announcing our new project to be contacted by a concerned community member and a friend of WIL. Our friend introduced us to a girl named, Riziki, today. She is 17 years old, homeless and pregnant. Julianna, our resident super mama, took Riziki to the clinic for her first prenatal doctor's visit. Riziki and the baby appear to be healthy. After the doctors visit we wanted to get to know Riziki, we wanted to make sure WH was the right place for her and that we were equipped to take care of her needs. We are not set up for girls with substance abuse issues or girls that are depressed. We have organizations that we will refer girls that need any extra help to. Our first priority is the safety of the girls and everyone living in the house.

As we sat and spoke with Riziki about the circumstances that brought her to us she averted her eyes that will filling with tears. Her circumstances are some of the worst, if not the worst, I have heard in my time here in Tanzania. There is very little doubt in my mind that she, if she and the baby even survived the birth, would have abandoned her baby. She is 17 and homeless, she wouldn't really have a choice. She and her baby never had a chance, until now.

Riziki will live with Mwaniesha, a WIL nanny, until we can move into Welcome Home. On Monday she will learn about nutrition and start her prenatal vitamins. Julianna will be spending the mornings talking to Riziki about what will happen before, during and after labor. Julianna will act as a surrogate mama to Riziki to teach her everything about being a mother. Riziki will spend her afternoons at the center learning about the different jobs the women do. We are hoping she can find her passion and we can help her make it her career. We did not discuss Riziki's long term plan today. She has a long enough day and by 3 her stomach was full and she was napping on the floor, peacefully.

To learn more about the Welcome Home project please take a look at our newest newsletter
,http://walkinlovetanzania.blogspot.com/2014/09/walk-in-love-newsletter-september-2014.html.

We are currently looking for monthly sponsors so we can open up our home January 2015. Please consider becoming a sponsor and changing the lives of these young, innocent girls