On November 30, December 9th and December 14th of 2014, volunteers of BAPS Charities in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania visited orphanages around Dar-es-Salaam to provide much needed food and supplies for during the Christmas season. Providing nearly a ton of supplies, volunteers visited four orphanages:
- Buguruni School for the Dead and Dumb was founded in 1974 by the Government of Tanzania. At present, the school is sustained by the Government, the Society for the Deaf and other well-wishers. Winfrida Jeremiah is the head teacher of the school, where 271 student study, of whom 120 live there permanently. The age group for the students ranges from 3 to 15. In total, the institute has 41 teachers, whose students come from all over Tanzania. This is because schools like this are rare in Tanzania. The schooling is free for all the students, because the students come from poor backgrounds.
- The Help2Kids Orphanage was founded in 2010 by Help2kids International, a Swiss NGO that operates in Africa. The orphanage is located in the Mbezi area, which is approximately 20 kilometers from Dar es Salaam. 31 children reside in the home, whose age groups range from 4 to 18 years. In addition to housing, the orphanage provides basic necessities that all children deserve; education, food, healthcare, and a family environment to grow up in. The goal of the NGO is to help the children break the cycle of poverty, and live productive lives.
- The Retention Home is run by the Tanzanian government. It was started in 1962 in response to rising crime rates among the youth. At present, it has got 30 resident children, whose ages range from 12 to 17 and who have been involved in various petty crimes.
- Mwandaliwa orphanage is a certified home for parentless children that was registered in 2006. However, it was founded by Mr. Omari Abdul Karuzi in 2002. The orphanage is located in the Mbweni-Bunjo area, which is approximately 30 km away from Dar es Salaam. Currently, 94 children reside in the home, of which 54 are boys and 40 are girls. Their ages range from 2 to 17 years. The children attend the government school in the vicinity of the orphanage, where they get free education. The orphanage is their permanent home.
Volunteers delivered the following supplies to these orphanage:
- 200 kg of maize
- 200 kg of wheat
- 100 kg of sugar
- 100 kg of beans
- 100 kg of rice
- 80 liters of cooking oil
- 14 kg of salt
- 1 box of spaghetti
- Plastic cutlery
- 240 Gift Packets for the children
