Update: Mama Teddy
If you follow us on
Facebook, WalkinLove Tanzania, then you are probably wondering why Teddy and
Irene are at the WIL Community Center. To answer this question, I will take you
back a couple of days….
On Wednesday, March
25, myself, Neema and Dolly packed up and headed to Karatu to visit Mama Teddy.
This was a suprise visit and we were hoping to find the family happy and
healthy as we had so many times before.
Mama Teddy and her girls were the first
outreach family that WIL started working with. I met them in June 26, 2012 when Mama Teddy approached the
orphanage director I was sitting
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| Teddy and Irene the first day we met them 2012 |
Mama Teddy asked the
orphanage director to take her children but I spoke up. She was crying, she was
shaking, she did not want to go through with it but she did not believe she had
another choice, until I gave her one. We went to her home and we made a plan.
She was happy, she was grateful, she wanted to keep her baby girls. For the
next 2 and a half years we visited monthly to make sure the little family was
doing well and they were, for a long time. A few months back we started getting
concerned. Mama Teddy was drinking, we heard she stopped doing her business and
the girls were not in school on a regular basis.
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| Teddy and Irene on one of our visits 2012 |
That brings us to our
surprise visit on Wednesday. We arrived at Mama Teddy’s home at 8:45 am. She
was not at home so we went to the school to pay tuition and see how the girls
were. When we got there the teacher informed us that Teddy hadn’t been to
school in weeks and Irene was not in attendance that day either. We grew very
concerned and went back to Mama Teddy’s house. Neema began speaking to the
neighbors, who are always a good source of reliable information. The neighbors
told us that it was true, Mama Teddy had been drinking and was no longer doing
her business. They told us she was in trouble with the police and the girls
were no longer being taken care of properly, in fact, they had not seen Teddy
in weeks. A few minutes later Mama Teddy appeared with Irene in tow. She was
drunk.
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| Teddy's first day of school 2014 |
Neema asked her about
Teddy and after a few different stories and 20 minutes later Mama Teddy was on
her way to collect Teddy for a village an hour away. We took Irene to a local
café to discuss our options. We spoke to the community leader, who agreed with
the neighbors, Teddy and Irene were no longer being properly taken care of and
needed a safe place to go. When Mama Teddy came back with Teddy we asked her if
she wanted us to take the girls, just temporaily, for the time being. Maybe she
would get the help she needed. This time, two and a half year later, she agreed.
She did not shed any tears. She did not hesitate because even she knew she was
failing her baby girls at that point in time. She didn’t cry, instead she
exchanged smiles and giggles with Irene. She held Teddy’s hand and led her to
the car. She waived as we left. The girls happily waived back.
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| The family getting a water filter, Dec 2013 |
Almost a year ago I
had the idea to build up the
non-exsistent foster care system in Arusha. Children go into orphanages,
not foster homes. I think we can do better. I think we can find foster homes
for these kiddos, whether they are orphaned, abandoned or at-risk. Social welfare in Arusha backs us up. They
too believe children belong in familes and that before a child goes into an
orphanage they should first get the chance to be fostered. This has only been a
dream, an idea, until now. Now it is a necessity. Now, we have two little girls
who desperately need a place to call home. I could not bare to put them into an
orphanage and let them become another number, another so called orphan.
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| In the car on our way to Arusha on Wednesday |
Neema and I had
already gone over a plan for foster children because Teddy and Irene are not
the only children we were worried about. We have also started the process to
help three other children out of their current situations so they could become
a part of a loving family. Luckily, we had already identified a foster mama. A
wonderful mama, Mama Joshua. Mama Joshua came forward and said she would take
in children who needed a home. So, Teddy and Irene are now living with Mama
Joshua. Our first foster family. We will return to Karatu next week to visit with Mama Teddy and make a long term plan. We will do everything in our power to make sure Mama Teddy sees her girls at least once per month and we hope they will always remain close and possibly even move home one day. This all depends on Mama Teddy tho, she will need to prove to social welfare that she can be a good mama, again.
But we need your
help. I could not leave the girls with their mom even tho I knew we do not have
the budget to support the girls long term. We can use emergency funds for the time being
but in order to make sure our first foster family is successful we are looking
for sponsors to help pay for school, food, rent, and miscellaneous items. Teddy and Irene are not currently sponsored. I
have estimated that we will need $100 per foster child per month. We do not
require that one person sponsor a child, but we are happy to split it up into
as low as $10 per month. Do you have 9 friends that could spare $10 per month
to sponsor Teddy or Irene?
We want to rent out
houses close to the center for the foster families to live in for the time
being. None of our foster families currently have large enough living
facilities to take on more children, most live in one room homes. We do plan to
build a larger campus next year that will include our maternity home, Welcome
Home as well as foster homes sprinkled amongst the village we are building in. Foster families are the last option. We will
never take in a child, unless they are in immediate danger, without first
attempting to help the entire family out.
Thank you all for your support!
Would you like to sponsor Teddy or Irene? Please email me at believeinme.abc@gmail.com. We encourage you all to try to donate as little as $10 per month towards our foster care programs. For as little as $100 per month you can keep a child in a home, a family, and out of the orphanages. They will never be lost in the shuffle with WIL.
Please us the subscribe button to become a WIL Family Monthly Sponsor for as little as $10 per month you can give these girls the healthy, happy and loving family environment all kids deserve! Now is your chance to make sure these girls get it.
You can also send us a one time donation, any amount will go a long way! Please use the donate button, send a donation through paypal at wilinternational.pp@gmail.com or send a check to
Walk In Love International
12802 S Arapaho Dr
Olathe, KS
66062
Walk In Love International is a registered 501 c 3 in the United States and all donations are tax deductible
Tax I.D. number 46-1050025
You can also send us a one time donation, any amount will go a long way! Please use the donate button, send a donation through paypal at wilinternational.pp@gmail.com or send a check to
Walk In Love International
12802 S Arapaho Dr
Olathe, KS
66062
Walk In Love International is a registered 501 c 3 in the United States and all donations are tax deductible
Tax I.D. number 46-1050025
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| Irene enjoying some food! |
We were just given a load of clothing donations the day before the girls arrived. The clothing fit perfectly and the girls could not contain their excitement:)
The girls made quick friends with all the kids that attend the preschool and daycare
