Amani children and caregivers hope everyone had a most JOYFUL Holiday Season. Amani celebrated the children’s Christmas at the end of November, as the children who have some (extended) family go home for a few weeks during the December school break. This not only provides essential time for bonding with relatives over the festive season, but it is also a trial period for those children who may be close to be reunified permanently with their parents or extended family.

The celebration we had at Amani was wonderful. Father Christmas paid a visit to all of the Amani kids and handed out several small gifts. It was also a very special day for the children, as they dressed up in their *new* set of clothes and shoes to proudly wear at the party. And, all children and caregivers feasted on a big traditional Tanzanian meal, had a huge improvised dance party at the end of the day!

The new year also is a time for everyone at Amani to reflect and be grateful for your involvement and interest in our work. Your continued support and efforts not only ensure the Amani kids are well provided for and on track to brighter futures, but it also allows us to create these special memories and occasions for the children. For street children who have had so little, and have experienced so much distress, days like our Christmas Party are all the more meaningful at Amani. We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of YOU, who make our work of ‘Rescuing Street Children, Restoring Hope, and Transforming Lives’ possible!

Farming is a way of life for most Tanzanians, and for the children at Amani getting agricultural experience and know-how is very important. Handfuls of unassuming seeds found their way in to the soil at the Amani shamba (farm) back in March along with some fertilizer and hope and prayers for good rains and an ample harvest. The children worked hard to plant our maize crop, which provides an important staple for the Amani kitchen. Maize is ground and used as the primary ingredient in Ugali (a stiff corn porridge) and is also one of the main items in Makande, a beans and maize stew.

Although maize is an essential component in the Tanzanian kitchen, our vision for the food production and use of the Amani farm is much broader. In 2014, Amani plans to expand the use of the farm to incorporate more in-depth vocational training opportunities for the Amani kids, with animal husbandry and diversified fruit and vegetable crops. These goals not only help to provide valuable skills and hands-on experience for the Amani children, but also the necessary items needed for sustaining our supply of nutritious food to help the Amani kids to develop healthy and strong. We are all very excited to see this new farm come to fruition soon!

Everyone at Amani is extremely proud of our recent group of Standard 7 graduates. In a country where only about half of the children who begin primary school graduate, we are thrilled to support and encourage our 19 Amani youth to further their studies in secondary school or vocational training. Before they embark on this next chapter in their education and their lives, we are delivering a series of seminars and workshops on topics such as adolescence, career options, the importance of family, and life transitions, to best prepare these youth once they leave Amani. We also started a first-ever special 2.5-month English Course for this batch, to prepare them for the English medium of their future schools. As they await their final results from the national exam, we anticipate positive outcomes, as historically Amani has celebrated a 100% pass rate of our primary graduates – a huge accomplishment given the national statistics!

To celebrate the achievements of these youth, Amani hosted a graduation day for the children, their families and our friends. Complete with Amani performance favorites like ngoma (traditional drumming and dance), sarakasi (acrobatics) and our acrobatic jump rope team, other Amani traditions such as dance-offs and a singing/rapping competition helped to highlight the day. With students delivering a speech to the chief guest of honor, an official from the Ministry of Education, and a big, delicious lunch prepared by a committee of Amani staff, everyone was able to enjoy a festive day to honor the hard work and achievements of these amazing students. A BIG congratulations (HONGERA!) to these Amani youth!

Like many girls in Tanzania coming from extreme poverty, 13-year old Zakia’s childhood years were filled with a multitude of responsibilities and tasks that should belong to adults only. Without access to education, and working as a domestic house girl, many rights and opportunities that should have been afforded to her were denied, leaving Zakia with little options for her future. Most girls who work in domestic settings are hidden from the public eye and face a variety of exploitations from their employers including verbal, physical and sexual abuse. Often, these girls do not even have their basic needs met, with scenarios of insufficient food and deplorable sleeping conditions all too common. Zakia’s decision to flee her hopeless situation and face the streets of Moshi alone was bold, but luckily Amani social workers were there to find this vulnerable girl before the additional risks and dangers of life on the streets were able to take hold.

Now enrolled and excelling in our in-house education program, Zakia is on her way to catching up on the essential education that she missed for so long in her young life. A member of the Starters Class (our mixed age, entry-level program to ease former street children into semi-formal education), Zakia is quickly learning, and has mastered the basic reading and writing skills she lacked when she arrived to Amani. A bright girl with an even brighter smile, Zakia now has the chance to be a normal 13 year old girl. She loves listening to music, spending time with her friends, and is now an active member of the Ngoma (drumming and dance) group at Amani. We are very proud of Zakia’s progress and happy to offer a safe environment where she can thrive. While many domestic house girls face serious mistreatment and suffer silently, Zakia now shines as an inspiration of bravery and hope for other at-risk girls.