Children’s Village News from Mufindi

Lots of Activity at The children’s Village

Report from Joseph, our Social Welfare Officer:

“This is Sijali Kitalika, our nurse at Igoda Children’s Village, as she was conducting seminar to the house mamas on how to provide the First Aid to the children who might suddenly have health issue before sending them to the hospital. Important matters to this seminar were wound care, steps to help a child falling from different levels of epilepsy and how to help a child who is frequently vomiting and diarrhoea leading to dehydration.”

  “In May, we received a request from Kidete village for this baby, Kefa Patrick Kigulu, to receive custody here at the Children’s Village. This is due to the serious sickness of the mother who currently can’t breast feed. As this family has five other children at home with their father taking care of their mama, he finds he cannot cope and asked for help. So Kefa will be staying at the Igoda Children’s Village until such time that his father is able to have him back, when the Mama recovers. The photo here is shown with his sister.”

“Flora, a little baby girl who joined our Milk Powder service from the Outreach Program as the result of her mother having fungal infection in her breasts causing her to stop feeding her baby. The help request was received when she was 3 months old as the family couldn’t afford to buy 6 cans of milk powder which would have cost them more than 108,000/- Tsh (£38) every month. 6 months later we were informed her mother died and there was no option for her to stay at her family home. We received a request from the Village Child Committee for the baby to receive custody at the Igoda Children’s Village. Flora has been at the CV since June 2019 and is settling in very well.”

Fanuel, at the children’s village, has his own chicken project. He has built a coop and eagerly learning how to look after chickens, collect eggs and produce the meat. He also looks after his small garden of cabbages, tomatoes and Pine saplings and tends to an acre of Maize, with a couple of other friends. All this will put him in good stead for his future.

Manuse, standing, arrived at the CV after being found still attached to his mother who had passed away in a field trying to get to hospital in December 2017. As you can see he is a healthy little boy who has made friends with Fransisco who came to live at the Baby House too in January 2019. Unfortunately, his mother had passed away too. These two have bonded and are inseparable. It is very rewarding to see how all these children are flourishing. This is all thanks to our lovely supporters and amazing House Mamas, without whom they wouldn’t be able to be loved and cared for.

We are also very grateful to all our supporters and give special thanks to those contributing monthly, it makes such a difference. All contributions towards costs to keep the Igoda Children’s Village going are always appreciated. We are all volunteers and only local Tanzanian staff are paid.

Gift Vouchers/Blank Greetings Cards and African Craft are available at any time.
If you would like further information, please contact us.

GOOD NEWS FOR GLORIA AND HEZRON

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THESE POSSIBLE!

GOOD NEWS!
Gloria had her Cleft Palate and Lip Surgery on 10th April 2019! She gained the desired weight of over 10kgs which has been quite difficult, besides enjoying her food and having a healthy appetite, she has a malabsorption problem so it has taken her a long time to gain the weight needed.  Her operation has been a success and returned home with House Mama Salome on Wednesday 17th April looking amazing. She will soon heal and start a new life of eating and breathing so much easier! She still had her stitches in this photo.

Gloria was born on 1st June 2016 and arrived at the Igoda Children’s Village three weeks later weighing less than 3kgs. Her mother has intellectual challenges, making her unable to care for her baby and she couldn’t feed well enough, the father is not involved in Gloria’s life. She had a cleft lip and partial cleft palate that extended slightly into her nasal cavity, making activities such as eating and breathing difficult for her. At the Children’s Village, Gloria was given round the clock care and gradually her health improved.

ALSO MORE GOOD NEWS!

After a very successful appeal to replace Hezron’s Wheelchair, he was taken to the CCBRT Hospital in Dar-es-Salaam accompanied by Maneno Kalinga, his full-time carer and Joseph, his House Father, Social Welfare Officer and Counsellor,  where a team met up with him, assessed his disabilities, gave him some physiotherapy and fitted him for his wheelchair. See the video below of his first attempt to manoeuvre his chair which is very moving when you see his smile spread from ear to ear!

Hezron, who has Cerebral Palsy, has been at the Children’s Village since he was 10 years old, he is now 22 . He used to live with his grandmother as his sole carer, both Hezron’s parents died as well as all of his aunts. However, because he was unable to walk and had become too big to carry, his grandmother had to leave him at home most days on the mud floor. Due to his poor living conditions and compromised immunity, he became very sick and began to suffer. The Village Committee, along with his grandmother, decided it would be best if Hezron came to live at the Children’s Village where he could access educational opportunities, better healthcare services and be given the care he needed.

Today, he is thriving! Now we have a bigger bus Hezron can attend school at Madisi with his friends and other pupils from the CV where he can participate in activities to improve his hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Maneno, performs physiotherapy exercises with him regularly and each month he is taken to the Mdabulo Care and Treatment Clinic (CTC) where he receives medication. Hezron will always have a home at The Igoda Children’s Village where he is relaxed and has many friends.

January/February 2019 News from Mufindi

January / February 2019 News from Mufindi

 

BABY HOUSE:  On 23rd January another new baby arrived at the Children’s Village only a few hours old.  Sadly the mother passed away but she made sure she wrapped the baby girl up and put her in a safe place, tried to get help, but unfortunately she was too far away from the nearest hospital or medical help.  Our Social Officer, Joseph, was called in by the local Village Children’s Protection Committee to request that this little baby came to the Children’s Village where she will be loved and cared for until she is old enough for her family to look after her. She is the third baby to come to us over the last year and the house mamas are dedicated to caring for them and all the other little ones in the Baby House.  They work extremely hard and we are so grateful for their love and care. Shown above, one of the baby house mamas with Jordan, our long term volunteer from Peace Corps with the latest babies.

DENTISTS WITHOUT BORDERS: Always welcome to the Children’s Village, Dentists Without Borders, organized by our regular volunteer dentist, Dr Bodil Sandin, arrived in February.  They all  help the children learn to look after their teeth and also on their outreach work spreading the word about dental hygiene and treatments in remote schools also giving each pupil a new toothbrush. If children need treatment the school arranges for them all to visit the Mdabulo Dental Clinic together.  23 children from one school, Mwefu, took four hours to walk there, luckily the school organized a small bus to return them. There are no dentists in Mufindi, so their work is invaluable.

NEW SCHOOL BUS: We have, very generously, been donated a much needed bus that can now take all the children to school. This replaces the vehicle  that was running double trips because there are more children attending school. This also means that Hezron, 22 yrs old, our young man with Cerebral Palsy, can now get to school much easier and thoroughly enjoys it. As you can see, his wheelchair is very old and a little small so needs replacing with one that is made specially for him and are fundraising to replace it. If you would like to help, any amount, it would really be appreciated. He is a lovely person, never complaining always smiling! Thank you.  

https://www.goldengiving.com/charity/orphansinthewild

We would like to thank all our sponsors for their support and generosity over the last past year. Without your help our children and local Tanzanian staff at the Children’s Village would not have a happy  and safe home.    

Happy New Year 2019!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Peaceful, Happy New Year

Everyone worked hard to prepare a lovely Christmas celebration for the children at the Children’s Village.

Whilst the House Mamas prepared the Pilau Rice and cooked the meat for their dinner,

 

 

the older boys dressed the tree, washed the floor and set up the room for the Christmas Show.

 

 

 

After dinner the fun started – time for singing and    dancing!

 

 

Thank you  

for your help and support, without it our 60 children would not have their safe, caring family home at the CV in mufindi

 

 

 

RAISE THE ROOF FOR CHRISTMAS

THANK YOU  for your support so far, some of you have donated anonymousy and therefore, unable to send a receipt and thank you, we would like you to know this is very much appreciated!

 

Your help in invaluable!

 

 

 

 

RAISE THE ROOF in the Igoda Children’s Village.
Just £10 will buy a sheet of roofing material, £50 will buy a big drum of roof paint.
We need your help to raise £4,000 as many of the village house roofs are in urgent need of repair before the rainy season starts. Please click the link below to donate & help keep a good roof over the children’s heads.   

https://www.goldengiving.com/secu…/donation/orphansinthewild

If you would like to know more details, please contact us.

Thank You!

 

 

Rest in Peace, little Winson

Winson, 6 years old

Such sad news from Mufindi of a very special little boy who we were all very fond of.  A sweet  boy, just six years old. He suffered from severe epilepsy, having multiple seizures in a day. Since he first came to live in the Children’s Village nearly two years ago, he had made good progress, with his one to one carer helping him with mobility and communication. He made lots of little friends and won the hearts of us all. On the 27th November, he lost his battle for life. Thank you to all the Children’s Village family who looked after Winson with love and dedication. Thinking of you all. Rest in Peace, little Winson.

RAISE THE ROOF

RAISE THE ROOF.
Loving care from one of the House Mamas in the Igoda Children’s Village. Please help us keep a good roof over their heads.

Our target of £4,000 will allow us to do essential repairs.
A monthly donation can allow us to plan, or a single donation of £50 will buy a big drum of roof paint, £10 a single sheet of roofing material. Please click  on the donate button  and give what you can. Thank you! 

Or here’s a good way to start our Christmas appeal – a wonderful book which will make an excellent present. Flying Snakes & Green Turtles – Tanzania Up Close

This entertaining book describes the life and adventures of Geoff Fox MBE and his wife Vicky, founders of Foxes Community & Wildlife Conservation Trust (FCWCT). There cannot be too many couples who can claim to have run an East African tea plantation, discovered the cause of a virulent cattle disease, fought off cattle and ivory poachers, help the local population fight off the deadly HIV/Aids, set up an orphanage, schools, outreach and wildlife a conservation programme – but such is the life of Geoff and Vicky Fox. Their story, much of which is extremely funny, and so much more, is described in this wonderful book which costs £15 plus first class £3.45 or second class postage £2.95 for the UK.
100% goes to OITW.   If you would like a book, order through our Golden Giving donate button above, fill in the details and in the comments section, add ‘Fox Book’   Thank you.

Here’s another easy way to help us raise £4,000 we need to repair these roofs – AT NO COST TO YOU! The Giving Machine links to over 1500 well know retailers and it’s very simple to use. Please have a look and help maintain the welfare and security of the children in the Igoda Children’s Village. Click here to see how it works and chose Orphans in the Wild as your cause:  https://www.thegivingmachine.co.uk

 

A few Snippets from Mufindi

Outreach Medical Help –  

Our two medical Volunteers have arrived in Mufindi. Dr Leena Pasanen, and Dr Bodil Sandin (Dentist) They have also brought with them other short term volunteers including ‘Dentists Without Borders’ from Sweden. They are making such a difference.

A post from Dr. Leena: Oct 20th “We visited this lovely lady on Monday. She had difficulties with walking and fell down on and off. We found the walker at Mdabulo Clinic store which is a big help to her.”  These items were donated by container from us here in the UK, sourced from many donors.

To catch up with activities, do visit our Facebook page, there are some lovely posts. This one is of a gorgeous little toddler helping House Mama with washing, like all kids they love helping and getting soaked at the same time!

The Children’s Village

is home to some special needs children and young adults.  Hezron, pictured here,  has Cerebral Palsy. Both his parents and aunts died of HIV/AIDS when he was very young. His grandmother was his sole carer, but because he was unable to walk and had become too big to carry, she had to leave him at home most days on the mud floor. As a result, he became very sick and began to suffer. The village council, along with his family, asked if Hezron could live at the Children’s Village where he would have access to the health care and educational services he needed. Hezron is still not able to walk but is thriving, and always smiling! Since the provision (thanks to a kind donor) of transport, he can now attend school with his one-to-one carer, Stefano, who also helps him with physiotherapy exercises and general needs. The one-to-one care is provided by the Children’s Village/FCWCT. Hezron lives now at house No 3 with the older boys and Joseph the house father. Because of his needs, the Children’s Village remains Hezron’s home, he has been part of our family for 12 years, even though he is now well past the usual maximum age of 18.    Three other of our children have full time carers, a young girl with mental health problems, a 6-year-old boy who has several epileptic fits a day, despite medication, consequently retarding his physical abilities and the severely burnt young 15-year-old girl now been with us a few months. The care and dedication of our mamas is invaluable.

Reaching Out – In 2014 FCWCT initiated a social welfare programme, based on earlier valuable work done by Project Leaders Geoff Knight & Jenny Peck, who have now after 10 years returned to the US, and appointed its own trained Social Welfare Officer, Joseph Majembe. 

When families suggest that children can return from the Children’s Village to live with them again, Joseph assesses the proposed arrangements, liaises with the village councils and government officers. Once all is agreed, he monitors the children on a regular basis. He offers advice and practical assistance. Sometimes small things, like the cost of a pair of shoes or exercise books for school, can make a huge difference to a family’s well being. Joseph regularly visits the 16 villages in the project area, seeing families who are struggling to cope, alerted by the village elders or our own village volunteers. Often early intervention can prevent a child needing additional care and therefore keep the family together. He is also called by the Village Councils alerting him to other vulnerable children who need our help.

Thank you for all your support without it none of these activities would be possible. 

If you would like more information, please contact us.