Getting street children back into education and back up to speed with their non-street peers is one of Amani’s key aims. We rejoice in seeing so many children dream of positive futures again.

For the children who started Standard 7, this will be a special year. Not only will they work extra hard to prepare for their big exams in September, but they now go to school outside Amani and study with other children from the neighborhood. In September, they will graduate and move out of the Amani Children’s Centre, the place they called home for years.

Since he came to Amani in 2011, you have been with Tumaini, helping him grow up. As a 13-year-old he was chased from home by his stepmother and had to find refuge on the streets. Thanks to your generosity, an Amani street educator could meet Tumaini there. And then you gave Tumaini a home, a family, loving care, and an education.

Today, Tumaini is 19 years old. He has graduated from vocational training school as a welder. He lives in the new Amani Youth Transition Houses (YTH) and is getting ready to live independently. Would you like to know how is he doing in the YTH?

What do you like about living in the YTH? I like being enrolled in an apprenticeship and learning so many useful things for my life. I feel like I am building my future.

What do you do during a normal day? I go to my apprenticeship where I get welding practice. I am trying very hard to do a good job so I can give a good impression to my employer. I have already learned how to make gates, doors, grills, and windows.

What is the most important thing you have learned at the YTH so far? I have learned how to live with different people. Besides that, I learned other important skills, like how to cook, how to keep time, and how to treat people in the community with respect.

What do you think your life will be like when you move out of the YTH? I will continue to live as I do in the YTH and use all the things I have learned. I am now ready to live peacefully in the community. I think my life will be good.

What would you say to the donors who gave you this opportunity? I realize how lucky I am to be given this unique opportunity and I am immensely grateful to the people who make it possible. God bless you all and thank you for leading Amani to help children and youths like me.

The members of our Monthly Giving Club give Amani children the long-term regular support they need the most. Your dedication, month after month, makes big changes possible in small steps. Thank you for making a difference.

While the plans to build a new Centre for Street Children in Arusha take shape, there are young children who are sleeping unprotected on the streets every night. We decided to act. We bought mattresses and blankets, and opened the doors of our small day center every night, to young homeless children who need a place to sleep. Now, every night between 10 and 15 children sleep there safely.

Young children on the streets suffer serious abuse, including being beaten and robbed by older street youth, and physical (or sexual) abuse by security guards and other members of the public. The facilities in our improvised shelter are very basic, but the children don’t care. They now feel protected and that makes a world of difference to them.

Did you hear that Friends of Amani UK have a new Facebook page and website? Don't forget to check them out to see what other UK supporters are up to.