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YOUTH TRANSITION HOUSES AND SINGIDA INAUGURATION

We want to give you two good reasons to be proud of yourself: two new projects that we have been able to start in past few months. Thanks to your continued generosity Amani is growing and, together, we are able to help more children, in ever better ways.

Cutting the ribbon

On 6th of May 2016 we inaugurated the Youth Transition Houses and opened a complete new chapter in the history of Amani Children's Home. The new project has been named "Tunaimarika: Amani Youth Growing Strong" and will help the Amani youth – especially those who don’t have families to be reunited with – start a successful independent life.

Two months later, in July 2016, we had the official inauguration of the first-ever Amani Branch in the remote city of Singida. Ten members of the Moshi team traveled to the city to share this happy moment with the new Singida team. It was great to see how much the staff achieved in Singida in only a few months. The children's performances were the highlight of the day. Thanks to them everyone - staff, guests and children - had a great time.

FOCUS ON A CHILD: ABDULI

Today was a long day for Abduli. In the classroom he was struggling to read those long words and felt really frustrated. He had a great time in the evening however; he found some scrap paper and learned to make planes from his friend Daudi. Now, feeling sleepy and lying in bed with a full stomach, he reflects on the last months. Many things have changed for Abduli since he came to Amani in January; now he finally has a place to call home.

Abduli never had a real home before. Born to a very poor mother and an alcoholic father, he had a place to sleep but was not given any attention. Since he was very young he grew used to life on the streets and to fend for himself and his younger brothers. One day his father disappeared, leaving his mother with four children and no income at all. Being the older brother – at the age of 9 – Abduli was kicked out of the house and sent to look for his dad. Abduli moved to the nearby city of Arusha and became a homeless child.

In Arusha he met Gasper (one of Amani's street educators) who convinced him to come to our children's home. But during the first days he struggled a lot; he didn't want to sit quietly in class and would get very angry for simple things, fighting with the other children often. It was a huge battle to get him to wash his clothes and take bath every day! But he is doing much better now, and although he struggles with long words, he has already learned to read and write basic sentences and now is able to count. He also loves to show off his trick to walk on a big truck tire. Thanks to you, Abduli is growing into a happy and healthy child who dreams of becoming a pilot.

By joining our Monthly Giving Club you give Abduli a safe place to live, an education and a happy childhood. Your generosity transforms lives. Want to learn more about our Monthly Giving Club? Click here.

REAPING THE FRUITS

The Kiladeda farm is bustling with life. Since the new farming teacher joined Amani the farm has been completely transformed. During the past few months the children worked very hard to prepare the soil, divide the farm in small plots and beds, make a nursery for the new seedlings and fertilize the soil with manure. When the rains finally came the results showed off. The children at Amani are eating more vegetables than ever and twice per week they bring back sacks full of Chinese cabbage, green peppers, eggplants and other vegetables.

The chicken project has also been a success and these days all 80 children at the Amani Home eat eggs two times a week. There was some bad news on the animal husbandry side too, however; everyone was disappointed to learn that our cow (Hola Girl) is not pregnant. Not good news for a dairy cow!

We would like to send a special thank-you to Friends of Amani Germany, the Porter Family and our Sarasota friends, and everyone who makes this project possible.

These are the fruits of your generosity. Thanks to you Amani is becoming better and bigger, helping more children in need. We hope it will make you happy to know how many lives you are helping transform. THANK YOU!

One of the easiest ways for you to make sure Amani can keep pursuing its mission in the future is to include a Charity Bequest for Amani in your will. As Berend, you will leave an enduring legacy through the lives of the children you will help transform. If you have any questions just send an email to Ana (ana@amanikids.org) and she will be happy to give you more information.