WIL Quarterly Newsletter

What has been happening at Walk In Love?!

January -March 2014

Quarterly Newsletter

Welcome everyone to our first quarterly WIL newsletter. I have decided to start updating everyone through email quarterly but we will continue to update our blog on a regular basis. You can also follow us on our Facebook page, Walk In Love Tanzania FB page, this is the best way to keep up to date with what is going on with the center, projects and lots of pictures of the always adorable kiddos and babies!

Siblings Zye and Muhammad taking a break from class:)

    Speaking of babies and kiddos, I would like to introduce you to the a few of the new kids at the center. We have been so blessed to have so many amazing sponsors for our kids that we have been able to add on ten new kids this year. All of the stories are sad that lead them to WIL but we are very happy that they found us so we could help them keep their families together and get the education they deserve. 

Adrianna comforting one of our newest babies, Angel

Elisia and Emmy whose mother passed away 

      Of the ten new children, four of them are from homes where the mother has passed away or run away. Their fathers came to us desperate to keep their children with them. One of the babies was only 6 months when her mother passed away. We are so encouraged that their father came to us instead of immediately taking baby Emmy to an orphanage. The orphanages are all too willing to take in babies who have fathers, even fathers that are willing to take care of their babies. We are providing formula and breast milk for baby Emmy and 24 hours support for the father. We can keep families together if we can get the word out and continue to gain more child sponsorship and monthly sponsorship programs.

Eneza

      Three of the new children are living with elderly grandparents because the parents have run off or died and one was sold by her parents at the age of 10 to go work in the city as a maid. Eneza, 10, is now enrolled at Sheperds school and we are supporting her through extra tutoring, food and family support.

Neema comforting Emmy

Welcome Neema!

Walk In Love has been growing at such a fast rate that we decided we needed a qualified and experienced Social Worker and we found just that! Neema has a degree in social work and has worked in the district social welfare office. She is fitting in wonderfully with all the women and children. When she does not have office work or home visits to do she is always playing with the big kids of cuddling a baby. Since 

Volunteers and Interns

We are so lucky to have such amazing volunteers and interns on the ground in TZ. I introduced you to Dolly in November. She is still at the center and doing amazing things with the women and children. She is a registered nurse and one of the responsibilites she has taken over is weighing and measuring all the kids. She is also making sure any children that are under weight are getting extra food and being monitored closely. Dolly also takes the children to the hospital when needed, including our boy Nikas. 

Dolly also taught a first aid class to the women

Thank you Dolly!

Brianna has come to volunteer with WIL for one year! That is quite a commitment and we are very excited to have her. Brie has been teaching the English classes for the women and children and she has been leading tumbling classes for the kids. They love it!! When I return to the US with the donated laptops Bri will start teaching computer classes.

Thank you Brie!

Bri leading the tumbling classes

Lucy and Mary

Lucy is one of our wonderful interns. She will be with WIL for three months. She has been a vital part of getting WIL organized and transferring information on to the computer. She has also been a huge part of WIL making more items that people want and finding places to sell them. Selling our handmade products is a huge piece of funding and it is so important that the quality is good and that we are making products people want. Lucy has done a great job on conducting research and assisting our tailors how to make quality products. Lucy has also taken over our blogs and has done a fantastic job! This only to name a few of the important jobs Lucy has been working on while she is with WIL. 

Lucy, Dolly and Lucy selling WIL products at a local craft sale

Lucy C. is another wonderful intern. Her time in Tanzania just came to an end after three months of very hard work. She has returned to England but will continue to assist WIL with our website, educational sponsorship, volunteers and fundraising. Lucy was an amazing hands on worker and was very active working with Neema with all of our families. She is a truly compassionate person and made a bond with the women and children that will last a lifetime! I hope she will come back to visit us but I know we will never be far from her thoughts! Thank you Lucy for your amazing work!

Lucy with Helena, an outreach child

If you are interested in volunteering with WIL please email Lucy and Cassie at believeinme.abc@gmail.com for more information.

Our Big Boys go to School!!!

When a child gets sponsored to attend our center they are also being sponsored to go to school for the next 18 years! We believe that the best way to serve these children and families to is follow through. This is a very unique concept because most sponsorship programs end when that child is no longer a part of the day to day activities of an organization. We are not in the business of keeping the children, we are in the business of empowering them and giving them the best opportunity and that is why your sponsorship follows the child even when they attend a different school. Three of our boys are currently attending a local private school, Sheperds. This is the school all our children will one day attend. 

We are currently looking for sponsors for 5 of our children. Our sponsorship program is called A Better Chance because that is exactly what you are giving child. A better chance to grow into a happy, healthy, successful adult. Without you, the chances of these children having an education is slim, eating 3 meals a day is unheard of. You can make a difference for $40 per month. If you are interested in sponsoring a child please email Lucy and Cassies at believeinme.abc@gmail.com for more information.

Current Needs

We are finally to a point where we will need a vehicle. We have three children in school that have to take the local transportation to and from school. This involves taking two mini buses and walking about 3/4 of a mile. This takes up to an hour one way. With so many of our children starting school next year we are hoping to have a mini bus to transport the children to and from school. A vehicle is also needed for our outreach families. If you are interested in donating toward a vehicle please contact me at walkinlovetanzania@gmail.com and we can discuss donation options. We are a 501c3 registered NGO in the United States and Tanzania.

Donate!

If you are interested in donating you can use our paypal button, write a check payable to Walk In Love International, or contact me, walkinlovetanzania@gmail.com, for our bank information. Every dollar goes into our empowerment programs and community center. Our founder and on site director, Aubree, does not receive a salary or any kind of compensation for her work and neither do volunteers or interns.

Please mail your checks to

12802 S Arapaho Dr

Olathe, KS 66062

Intern Blog: Lucy M

One of the reasons I love working here is that everyday is different- and I know that’s a cliché- but it is true. For every tragic story that we come across, each day something surprises me and makes me smile.

This week we welcomed 11-year-old Eneza to our Walk In love family. The Acting Director, Lucy Cottee, had often seen Eneza in the village; washing, cleaning and caring for younger children. Lucy and Neema looked into the situation further and learnt that Eneza had only attended one year of school at the age of five. Lucy put out a plea on Facebook for a sponsor and within a few hours we had one. Just like that, the pathway of Eneza’s life changed.  She has a second chance at education, no longer resigned to the Dada housegirl life. Neema will tutor Eneza at the community centre before she starts school at the fantastic Shepherds School. I can’t help but wonder…what will her favourite subject be, what job will she have, will she travel, perhaps she will be inspired to help other young girls…? Suddenly she has a future of possibilities. And that is the power of education. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvmE4_KMNw

 

Eneza

On Monday Six-year-old Elisia joined our day care. In her short life she has already lost so much. But WIL aims to stop her losing any more of her childhood. Now she is able to play with the other children with lego or on the swings, and that is a great thing. She is a friendly little girl and I know she will fit in perfectly.

Brianna ran her first gymnastics class for the children on Wednesday and it went amazingly well- they loved it. They ran, jumped, rolly polly-ed, and admittedly fell splat on the mat several times. Very entertaining for the children and spectators alike…

Meanwhile we have also been busy in the office this week. On Saturday we are running a stall at Mango Tree- ‘What’s Up Arusha?’. Dolly, Lucy and I have been prepping stock, pricing items and painting signs. We will be selling our beautiful bags, quilts and accessories. The Ipad cases are so nice they make me want an Ipad just so I can have one! We have high hopes for lots of sales. It should be a fun event, so if you know anyone in the area please tell them to come along!

https://www.facebook.com/events/290683634420121/?fref=ts

In last week’s blog I think I mentioned the lovely American ladies who donated lots of useful goodies. Well yesterday even more arrived from them, in fact an overwhelming amount of clothes, blankets, towels and material. Plus buckets of rice and lentils. This means rice and beans for lunch today, our fave. No sarcasm intended! 

This week I have noticed the girls doing something that little girls the world over do- playing ‘Mums’. In the West, this might mean pushing a pram, luxury toy cots, baths, and a battery operated doll. In Africa it is slightly different. The girls here play with a one-eyed, armless doll...quite an ugly thing as you can imagine! Anyway, just like their Mumas, they strap their ‘baby’ on their backs with Kitenge material. It is so sweet to see. I have also noticed them carry toys on their heads from one side of the playroom to the other, just like their Mumas may carry buckets of water or bowls of bananas. Considering how much is different, when it comes to children, it is amazing to see how much is really the same.

One last thing: if there is any chance you could spare a pound/dollar please click on the link below and donate. We are trying to raise enough money to buy all the children a pair of wellies and a raincoat ready for the rainy season. We appreciate all donations so much, however big or small. Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/keep-the-walk-in-love-kids-dry-/150867

Don't forget to check out our Facebook page for up-to-date news and pictures 

https://www.facebook.com/WILBelieveInMe?fref=ts

Lucy

While a few of us volunteers had a short break in Zanzibar this week (what an incredible place!), there were plenty of developments happening at the centre.

Firstly thanks to a very kind donation we were able to install a modern toilet facility for the children to use. No, the toilet is not a particularly glamorous addition, but it was an essential improvement and many thanks go to our donor.

Brand new mosquito nets were also added to the nap room and Reuben has built shelves into all our cupboards. New shelving does not tend to be the most exciting news, but we are excited by it never the less! The same cupboards suddenly have so much more space to store clothes, donations and our hand made bags and quilts. The community centre has such potential and I feel that every day, bit by bit, we are growing and improving. Here is Reuben putting up a Mozzy net

One of WIL’s current goals is to sell our hand made items at summer/music festivals in the UK. The bags, quilts and accessories are popular here in Arusha and also sell well with Aubree back in the US. The beautiful fabrics and expertly made items are bound to go down a storm with the summery, bohemian vibe of British festivals. If you have 2 minutes to spare please answer the following survey, the results of which will help us plan for the festivals. There are less than 10 questions and every reply we get will help more than you know, thank you. Here is the link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LRQTCM2

On Wednesday we had two lovely ladies turn up at the WIL gates. Only this time, they were not Tanzanian women struggling with new babies. These were American women coming to make generous donations, following the passing of their Mother. The donations included big sacks of rice, beans, toys, clothes, cakes and biscuits. What we could not get over was how grateful they were that we were accepting their donations- but, really, we are the grateful ones! The rice and beans will save us money, the cakes were a lovely treat for everyone, and the toys are much needed and always appreciated by the children. The truth is, the children here seem content with very little, but I think every child deserves a biscuit and a new toy every once in a while.

In other news, baby Angel is starting to settle in. She still cries a fair bit but amazingly I have seen her a few times sat on the mat, content with a rattle. Our baby boys Juma and Ima are changing by the day and it is great to see. Juma, is crawling and exploring, he moves at a scarily fast speed! Ima is becoming more animated too, he has started making the funniest little facial expressions and seems interested by his surroundings- at last!

  

Bikes and pancakes

It has been busy as ever this week. I hope I’m not speaking too soon when I say that we have had a break from the rainy season..! So every day the children have been able to play outside, on the swings, the slide and on the new little bikes that were kindly donated. They have proved very popular, perhaps a little too popular as the scratch on Robbie’s cheek will suggest!

We welcomed baby Angel to the centre this week. She is a cute baby girl, with very wide, curious eyes. However her ear piercing screeching is far from angelic. One day, she was passed around the whole WIL team and no one was able to sooth her. She appears to be at the stage where she just wants her Mama! However we did finally have success when we strapped her to the back of Lucy, in the true African way, clearly what she is used to. Angel calmed down and eventually dropped off to sleep, tired out. Never-the-less it is great to be able to have a little girl join our baby boys Ima, Juma and Charles and Mama Angel is sure to benefit from having her days free to work.

Our afternoon pre- school classes have been going well. This week children have made paper safari hats as well as binoculars out of cardboard toilet roll tubes. They are all set for the safari around the garden this afternoon…

In other news, we have been treated to Dolly’s baking twice this week. Peanut butter cookies on Monday and banana pancakes on Tuesday. Delicious treats for the children and volunteers alike! 

February Update: Guest Blogger

 Jambo! It has been a busy time at Walk In Love recently and we have much to update you on.

I should probably start my introducing myself- My name is Lucy and I am the newest volunteer at Walk In Love. I am a student from England and two weeks ago began a three-month internship with this amazing charity. 

Me with little Ima

So, whilst there is plenty to fill you in on from the past few months, let’s start off with the here and now…February!

Last week, we welcomed 2-year-old Mary to our day care. Mary’s mother lives in the village and washes clothes for a living. The volunteers here have already managed to provide her with some business! Mary is a lovely little girl and has settled in well. The other children have welcomed her; it was very sweet to see Bravon hold her hand yesterday and lead her to safety away from the boy’s football game! Since the last blog post we have also had two other new arrivals; Tamara and baby Charles. Tamara is a sweet and quiet little girl and Charles, a big and bouncy baby boy!

The Walk In Love team is also growing and I am very happy and honoured to be part of it. We have three other volunteers here currently; another Lucy, Dolly and Brianna. The job here is very varied but I think I can speak for all of us when I say that seeing the babies and children every day is the highlight!

Neema is another new addition to the team, and she began work this week as a social worker. Neema was thrown in the deep end with four home visits to struggling women on her first day. She has already proved to be a great addition to WIL and with her help the charity will continue to grow and prosper.

Meanwhile, it has been an exciting few weeks for the Joshuas and Bravon. They started at a brilliant local nursery and have taken to it very well. They even seem keen to do their homework! It is fantastic to see the boys have this start in life, thanks to the support of WIL and their sponsors.

The boys walking home from school in their smart uniform.

Doing their homework...

There are many exciting plans afoot, including the opening of a shop here at the WIL community centre. The shop will sell our beautiful handcrafted quilts, jewellery, bags, scarves, laptop cases….I could go on! In fact, word is spreading in Arusha and we have had groups of people popping in to buy and order products. I have my eye on a few things myself!

Thank you for your continued interest and support. Please do spread the work and feel free to get in touch on Facebook (search ‘A Better Chance – Walk In Love International).

More updates to come! 

November Newsletter

Walk In Love

November 2013 Newsletter
We hope you have all had a wonderful beginning of the holiday season! We do not celebrate Thanksgiving here but we are very thankful for all the women and children we have been able to provide for. We are also thankful for all the donors who make our work possible!!!

The "big" kids pretending to be sleeping in the preschool room.

We have, together, created another option for young mothers, Neema and Charles

 First I want to share a exert from a piece I wrote called "Finding Inspiration" in April 2012

Patricia

On Monday morning I arrived at Cradle and met our newest addition, Patricia. She is three months old but looks like a tiny new born. She has mocha skin,big light brown eyes and lots of curly hair. Her mother had dropped her off over the weekend because she was no longer producing milk. She didn't want to leave her but she knew that Patricia was already too small and malnourished. There was nothing the mother could do to help her only child anymore. The mother herself was starving and could not feed her daughter.

Neema and Charles

Let me introduce you to a very brave 19 year old girl named Neema and her 3 week old son, Charles.

Neema came to our center last week, very weak, holding her 3 week old son. She told us that she was no longer producing enough milk to feed Charles and she was scared that he was going to die. We brought her in, we feed her and then we went to the market and bought her fruits, vegetables, proteins and rice enough for one week. We will continue giving food to Neema. On January 6th Charles will become the newest baby at the Walk In Love Community Center and Neema will start a program to give her the skills to get a job so that she can feed Charles and keep him in a safe home environment. We will be securing sponsorship for Neema and Charles this month. Neema will chose which profession she wants to go into and we will hopefully get enough sponsorship money to provide basic needs for her and Charles and pay her school fees.

 Neema will never have to make the decision to take Charles to an orphanage or abandon him hoping someone would take care of him. We have created another option for Neema and this is only the beginning.  Abandoned babies are found every day in Arusha and they end up in orphanages. Some are even found healthy and clean. They had a mother that loved them but couldn't care for them. Just like Neema loves Charles but if she hadn't come to us to ask for help then there is no doubt in my mind she would be Patricia's mother or one of the abandoned babies at an orphanages mother. A mother's instinct is to keep her child happy and healthy and when a mother cannot provide for her child she will do what is necessary and unfortunately most of the time here in Arusha that baby becomes just another nameless abandoned baby at an orphanage. I know that mothers, like Neema, want the chance to keep there babies. They want the opportunity to go to school and to support their families. We are here to give them that option.

Next year we have big plans to make this an option for other young mothers or any at-risk women. We will go into more detail about our new programs next month but I want you all to think about donating to Walk In Love this year so we can start next year off running! I know the end of the year is a popular time to donate and if you are not able to donate please pass our story on to your friends and your family. We have created another option for a young mother and with you help we can give this option to so many more!

You can donate through our paypal link, write a check to Walk In Love, International

12802 S Arapaho Dr

Olathe, Ks 66062

or contact me at walkinlovetanzania@gmail.com for direct deposit information. You will receive you tax receipt by January 15th.

In other news at the center, November was very HOT! 

Thanks to some cute little swim suits that were donated and some buckets of water the toddlers were able to cool down during the hot afternoons and they LOVED every second of it! They played in the water until they had splashed it all out!

Welcome Dolly and Tara!

Dolly cuddling with Ima

Dolly and Tara are both long term volunteers and we are so lucky they have decided to volunteer with WIL! Dolly is a nurse and plans on helping run some new medical programs we have planned for next year. She will also make sure all our babies and mama are healthy and teach first aid classes in our community and at our new Masaai outreach program. I will go into more detail about our 2014 programs in the December newsletter.

Tara is a trained physical education teacher, dance instructor, yoga (children and adults) instructor and zumba instructor! She has been leading dance and yoga classes with the kids. They love it! The mama's have also show interest in zumba and other aerobic excersise so Tara has agreed to hold regular classes for our ladies as well as any women who wants to participate in the community. Tara will also hold classes for our volunteers!

We have have been able to add so many great programs next year thanks to these two amazing ladies!

Tara also taught the kids a fun new way to play with water. She filled some buckets up, gave them all paint brushes and pointed them towards out gate. They loved it! 

We are also very excited to have a full house the beginning of next year. We will welcome two interns and three volunteers! We are so excited for all the extra help at the center and the leadership, experiences and skills these women are brining!

Fun on the playground!

The kids still love playing on all the new equipment. Someone told me that "Tanzania children don't have much use for playground equipment" but I think we have proved them wrong! We do have a schedule that includes art, music, lessons, naps and food everyday but in between those times they are playing outside.

Welcome Mwaniesha!
Mwaniesha is a 17 year old girl that attended our Childcare Development Course. When we realized our nannies and Agnes were working maybe a little too hard we decided to hire on Mwaniesha. She is doing an excellent job so far and the ladies really appreciate her hard work! She is only part time right now but at the beginning of the year we plan on making her full time.

Our Founder
Aubree McClelland Packard had a very nice article written about

her that was published on November 1st. Here is a link to the article if you wish to read more about Aubree and her experiences in Tanzania please click here.
Thanks to this lovely article written by Johnson County Lifestyle we have some new supporters, Rick and April Butterfeild. Thank you Rick and April for joining out Walk In Love family!



Christmas is just around the corner!
We are planning on holding a large Christmas party at the center on December 21st. All our women, children and their families will be invited. This includes all our outreach families as well. We are expecting around 100 guests and 40 children. We have been raising money to buy each family a water filter and we have reached our goal! All 22 families will receive the gift of clean water but we still haven't reached our goal to feed 100 people or give gifts to 40 children. Please check out our event on FB, Christmas Safe Water Appeal, for more information.
The kids have been making all kinds of Christmas decorations and learning new songs to sing for all there parents and loved ones!

Christmas Wish List!
The "babies" at the center are all turning into big kids! We are running out of space and seats for them to all sit at the table for lunch. We are currently looking into building a large children's table with bench seating so all the kids have a place to sit and eat. The estimated cost of a table is $200. If you are interested in donating a table to WIL for Christmas please email me at walkinlovetanzania@gmail.comor use our donate button and write a message that it is for a table.
Thank you!

Beautiful Ima still needs a sponsor.

Speaking of Christmas, are you still looking for a present for a loved one? Have you considered sponsoring a child for them? If you would like to sponsor a child as a Christmas Present please email believeinme.abc@gmail.com. We have Christmas ornaments with all the Childrens pictures and letters for all sponsors that will be mailed to you immediately once you sign up!

Monthly Budget

(in Tanzanian Shillings)

This month we added in our monthly security charges and Mwaniesha's salary

Every Month (monthly budget will increase with every child and employee we add. We are also hoping to add vitamins to our monthly budget):

Rent: 500,000/

Electricity: 75,000/

Water: 50,000/

Juma just wanted to say Hi!

Food (including milk, charcoal, transportation): 550,000

Salaries: 1,840,000

Community Security: 10,000/

Total: 3,025,000/ ($1,890.62)

Extra expenses for November (this may not include everything as Rehema is still going through receipts for extra expenses)

Neema food for one week: 20,000/

Office supplies and furniture (office desk and printer included): 360,000

Big Balls: 20,000/

Total: 400,000/ ($250)

Monthly total: 3,425,000 ($2,140)

How can you help?

* Buy a 2014 Calendar from Glenda here! Glenda is donating all the proceeds to Walk In Love!!

*Ask about volunteer and intern opportunities in the US and Tanzania. Please send emails to believeinme.abc@gmail.com for more information on volunteering or visit our website, wearewalkinlove.org

*Help us to write grants

*Purchase a one of a kind handmade quilt or duvet from our Etsy Shop

*Share our fundraisers with friends and family

*If you are in the KC area swing by our booth at A Fabulous Find (5330 Martway, Mission, Ks)

Booth at a Fabulous Find!

*Become a monthly Sponsor

Sponsor a child

*

* Follow us on Facebook. This is the BEST way to keep up to date on photos, videos and information.

*Hold a fundraiser (please contact me at walkinlovetanzania@gmail.com for more info)

*Make a donation, we are a registered 501 c (3) organization,  using paypal or by mailing a check payable to:

Walk In Love International

12802 S Arapaho Dr

Olathe, KS 66062

Contact me at walkinlovetanzania@gmail.com or check out our website, wearewalkinlove.org

Use our Donate button!