Matumaini (means HOPE) Child Care (MCC)
It is a centre for orphans, semi orphans and other children living in hardship conditions due to high level of poverty of their parents and other family members. MCC started towards the end of October 2006.
Contact Person: Cletus R. Nyaki
TEL. + 255 755890765
Location: The Matumaini Child Care is located 3 kilometers from Moshi Town along Uru Road highway. It is in Uru West.It is also one kilometer north of CCS Rau premises.
The house hasn’t had running water or electricity. Clean and safe tap water can be obtained from the neighborhood. The building is furnished with a few beds, bed sheets, ten chairs, and one set of couches. It has an area for gardening and a small play ground.
Staffing:
The centre is run by Cletus Nyaki who is among the founder members. He is also in charge of the finances, budgeting and day to – day activities. Sotery is the warden of the house. Lucy Msoka supports Sotery at Night. There are a few mamas who cook for the children in rotation because everything depends entirely on volunteerism. These mamas are from the community. They sometimes donate some food for the children.
Matumaini Child Care caters for children ages 5-13 years old. Currently there are 17 children, both boys and girls. Most of the children are of single mothers and some are orphans. Some children are in a nursery school while the majority is in different class levels in the primary schools around.
Aims:
Protection of children from a vulnerable environment
Provision of food, clothes and shelter
Provide non-formal education
Volunteer Activities
Provide entertainment for the children through games, songs, and crafts
Non-formal education (reading and writing)
Teaching basic subjects (English, arithmetic)
Simple Healthcare
Share with the administrative team on issues pertaining to local fundraising, conducting out reach programs, organizing home visits counseling the children, and work on a website.
Projects Done by CCS Volunteers
• Paint the Common Room
• Build the Chicken Coupe
• Start a Vegetable garden
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4 comments:
Matumaini was begun in October 2006 by Mr. Mambo and Cletus Nyaki, just one month before I arrived in Tanzania. It is about a 20 minute walk from CCS. I fell in love with the kids the first time I visited and was hooked for the next four months. There are currently around 17 kids living at the orphanage...the number can change often. Some of the kids are orphans and others have parents who are unable or unwilling to care for them or provide them a safe and nurturing environment. They range in age from about 6 to 14 years old.
I, along with other volunteers and monetary help from many people at home, planted a garden, built a chicken coup and provided chickens, bought each child notebooks and pencils, new school uniforms, paid for this year's school fees, purchased each child a new church outfit, bought new mattresses for the beds, provided them with three months worth of food, spent countless hours working on the budget, and most importantly, played with and loved the kids. With the help of my dad, we also worked with Mr. Mambo to start up two investment projects which will hopefully begin to generate large returns in the coming months. We invested in a rice paddy which will be sold in a few months (depending on the rain), generating a large profit, and planted a large field of maize behind the orphanage which can be harvested and sold.
In the last two months while I have been home, there have been even more wonderful improvements made.
I have completely committed myself to Matumaini, even while I am home, continuing to converse with Mr. Mambo and generate as much donation money as possible. Until the investments start to generate returns (and hopefully they will), Matumaini continues to need money for food, home visits to assess family situations, and continuing to pay school fees and provide school supplies.
I am heading back to Tanzania in a couple of weeks (I literally can't stay away) and hope to spend a lot of time helping them with their school work. Many are behind and sadly, the schools are not always the best at teaching the fundamentals, especially English. So really working with the kids on their education seems to be the most important thing at this point. In addition, I will be continuing to work on the budget, ensuring there is always a fund available for medical issues that arise as well as for home visits and food purchasing.
Mr. Mambo also has long-term goals of opening more centers, so hopefully we can get Matumaini for the most part self-reliant so he can accomplish those goals.
If you are coming to volunteer here, come prepared to fall in love, provide love for these kids, and help them with their education. This placement definitely requires commitment as the kids all will be expecting to see you everyday. It is the most incredible place I have ever spent time and will hopefully capture your heart as it has mine.
It actually was not where I was placed; I picked it up originally as an extra afternoon placement but it became as, if not more important to me than my primary placement at the health clinic. So whether or not you are placed here officially, come anyway!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me, Kim, at kkrowne@gmail.com.
Helpful Swahili words:
ACHA - STOP (COMMAND)
KULA - EAT (COMMAND)
CHAKULA - FOOD
HAPA - HERE
HAPANA - NO
MGENI - VISITOR (this is what they call you)
CHOO - TOILET
KAA - SIT (COMMAND)
NZURI - GOOD
NJOO - COME (COMMAND)
SIMAMA - STAND (COMMAND)
UKO - THERE
KUTEMBEA - TO WALK (to go for a walk)
WAPI - WHERE
NAOMBA - CAN I PLEASE HAVE IT
PICHA - CAMERA
PIGA PICHA - TAKE A PICTURE
KIMBIA - RUN
UNA MIAKA MINGAPI - HOW OLD ARE YOU
KUWA MAKINI - BE CAREFUL
KWAHERI KESHO - GOODBYE SEE YOU TOMORROW
PENDANENI - LOVE EACH OTHER
SIELEWI - I DON’T UNDERSTAND
SIJUI - I DON’T KNOW
KAZI NZURI - GOOD JOB
SUBIRI KIDOGO - JUST A MINUTE
SUBIRI - WAIT
Kim covered most of what I would say but I just wanted to stress how absolutely wonderful these children are. They are so loving and so appreciative of visitors.. so GO SEE THEM! I promise they will make your day and you will want to return every day.
I was a volunteer there for 9 weeks starting in March. Kim got me involved in the orphanage and as she promised, I fell in love. While I was there we reconstructed the bathrooms.. or "latrines", and painted them, we built 6 double deck beds, bought 6 new mattresses, 12 sheets, blankets, and mosquito nets. All the kids received bookbags and more school supplies as well as chupi :) (underwear). We bought 3 months worth of food and did some home visits. All of this was done through donations.
After I left and Kim returned even more went on. The corn was harvested, a water source was brought to the orphanage and I believe a garden was planted. Also a pig project was put into action which is an ongoing process.
Kim and I are returning to Rau mid December and are going back to work with Matumaini. If anyone has any questions or concerns please email me (Michelle) at michkowal9@hotmail.com or kim as above. I'd love to hear from you!
Kim and Michelle really summed this up. I was placed at Kigangoni for 3 weeks before moving on to Matumaini because of the school break. I never thought anything could match my experience at Kigangoni but Matumaini was somehow even better. You really got to know the kids and their family situations much more intimately. It was also surprising how many of the local kids hang out at Matumaini. I went my first day and expected 17 kids. 40 showed up. Some were the kids of the mamas who do the washing, cooking, etc. for the orphanage and others just came from the "neighborhood." I always tried to take something for the kids to do...something to color (providing crayons or markers as well) and all of them love to draw. The chalkboard inside is also a big hit to bring outside and have the kids either practice letters, numbers or math or just draw on. But you need to take the chalk. Every day we took jump ropes. The kids used them to jump rope, one day they turned them into swings by hanging them around branches and jump ropes were also great markers for races. All of these kids have so much love to give. Leaving Matumaini my last day was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
If you are going to Rau, go to Matumaini. If you have any questions or want to talk about anything, feel free to write me at wendygbrowning@yahoo.com.
Wendy
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