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!

September/October WIL Newsletter

Walk In Love International

September/October Newsletter

Welcome Friends and Family to our September/October Newsletter! We have a lot to update you on! I do try to make this newsletter monthly but sometimes I get so busy and its been 2 months before I even know it! I want to introduce you all to our new logo and T-shirts! You can purchase your WIL t-shirt on OUR NEW WEBSITE, thanks to our friends at Cedar Creek Creative, wearewalkinlove.org. You can learn more about volunteering with WIL, sponsoring a child, becoming a monthly sponsor and so much more! We are still working on making the website everything we want it to be but it is up and running and ready for you to visit!

Welcome Ima, Juma, Amina, Joeli, Joshua and Elisha, Ma Adrianna and Julianna!

Big Boy Elisha!

Julianna and baby Juma

Ima

Ma Adrianna comforting Joeli on his first day

Amina was very happy her first day! She carried this doll around all day:)

We welcomed 6 new kids on November 1st! We are now up to 15 kids and 4 full time nannies! We will introduce the new children to you on our sponsor a child link later this week. If you are interested in sponsoring a child please visit our Child sponsorship page and learn more about what sponsoring a child means and how you will be giving your child a better chance at a bright, happy and healthy future! We are very happy to announce that 7 of our beautiful children have been sponsored! Mama's are often so happy when they find out there children will be able to go to school that they are brought to tears. Education is not a right in Tanzania it is a gift. A gift that you could give!

Monthly Budget

It was suggested to us that we post a budget every month and we thought that was a great idea! We want everyone to know where their money is going. We also want everyone to see just how much it takes to run our center on a monthly basis and why monthly sponsorship is so important! There are no administrative costs and 100% of your donations go straight into our programs! For more information on becoming a monthly sponsor please visit our Monthly Sponsorship page. For as little as $15 per month you can make a difference in the lives of women and children and actually see where your money is going and who it is helping!

I will post our budget on the website monthly.

October Monthly Budget

(in Tanzanian Shillings)

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/

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

Salaries: 1,720,000

Total: 2,895,000/ ($1,809.37)

Extra for October:

Playground (including labor, paint, transportation and tires): 1,100,000/

Baby cribs: 250,000

Mattresses: 129,000

Plastic diaper covers: 20,000

Jewelry supplies: 10,000

Button machine for tailors: 75,000

Chairs: 110,000

Help Mama Juma and Mama Joshua start a business: 100,000

Balls: 27,000

Kitchen supplies: 150,000

Office Supplies: 100,000

Total: 2,071,000/ ($1,294.38)

Combined Total: 4,966,008/ ($3,103.76)

Mama Amina (Juma) and Mama Joshua

Mama Amina and Mama Joshua are women that we have known for several months. They are both struggling to take care of their children and Mama Joshua has even sent two of her kids (2 years and 7 years) away to live with family members. When we had the opportunity, thanks to children being sponsored, to bring in more children into our center we thought of Mama Amina and Mama Joshua immediately. Amina, Juma and Joshua started attending our center on November 1 and we gave Mama Amina and Mama Joshua supplies to start up a small cake business just outside the center in a great location! We hope that the business will be successful and Mama Joshua can bring her children home. 

Mama Amina with Amina and Juma. The business is very close to the center so Mama Amina is able to come and feed Juma several times per day.

WIL Playground!

Thanks to a Tastefully Simple fundraiser held by Karalin McKain and fundraisers held in Kansas City (Hamburger Mary's, 5K, Out in the Crossroads) we were able to build our kids an amazing playground! All the pieces are now up and the kids are playing on it every chance they get!! The only thing left to do is paint everything bright colors and we have some great volunteers coming next week to do just that!

Beds, Beds, Beds!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our bed fundraiser we were able to purchase 3 toddler bunk beds and one double crib with mattresses! Now all of our kids are up off the floor for nap time!

Childcare Professional Course

We held a two week Childcare Professional Course taught by Nikki Fortune, at the beginning of September. Nikki did a great job! The women could not have been happier with the information that Nikki taught them and they feel comfortable and confident to work with children. We will be helping the women find employment in Arusha. We will also be offering an English course to all the graduates starting in November. We believe that with the Childcare course and the English course we will put them on the top of any employers lists! We are excited to welcome back Nikki and her husband Derek next year!

WIL Preschool:

Up and Running!

The children attend preschool every morning and afternoon in our new preschool room. Rehema was picked by Nikki to become our new preschool teacher! We were not expecting this but we think she is doing an amazing job! She is a natural teacher and with her wonderful English and knowledge we know she will be the best teacher for our children! This will most likely not be a permanent position for Rehema because she has a lot of other interests she would like to peruse within WIL but we are happy to have her in the preschool room until January.

Just a couple of cuties!

Our new toddler room will hopefully be completed his month.

Reuben goes to University!!!
Thank you to everyone who has donated towards Reubens education. He started school on October 13th and is doing really well. We were able to raise enough money for Reubens first year but he needs to complete 3 years in order for him to receive his Bachelors degree in Community Development. If you are interested in donating towards Reubens education please visit our GoFundMe page. Thank you!

Current Fundraisers
We are currently trying to raise enough money to buy 20 water filters for 20 of our neediest families! Please check out our Facebook even for more information.
Christmas Safe Water Appeal

2014 Calendar!
We are also selling desktop 2014 Calendars full of pictures from this year at WIL for $10! Please email me at walkinlovetanzania@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing a 2014 WIL desktop Calendar.

 How can you help?

*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

*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

Please follow this link to September/October pictures at the WIL Community Center

Thank you all for your continued encouragement and support!