So last year as i was doing my best to try and make a difference here in Tanzania i came up with an idea of creating a project for the homelessness issue in the village of Usa-river. Since my return i have been working very hard trying to design and develop a program that fits the needs of this community as well as being culturally sensitive, i have come up with a program that would assist women and women with children. We found that due to the male dominance within the culture that women were found to be the most vulnerable. So for over 3 weeks along with another American i happen to meet here as well as a young man from the village that would serve as our community liaison as well as interpreter/body guard we combed the streets and alleys of the entire village. Let me explain the layout of the village. It is very large and there is only one main paved road then there is one main dirt road then there are hundreds of small dirt roads that meander between all the houses and throughout all the village. It was a difficult task to try and filter through all of the candidate's as everyone is in desperate need but we were being very selective. Some of the women we found were forced into prostitution in order to pay house rent of about $3/month as well as feed their children and maybe themselves. Some of these women have HIV now as a result of this behavior as well as possibly continuing to transmit the virus to others. Some of the women have small infant children that are products of this prostitution. So we immediately took them from that environment along with there children and gave then a free room to live in , 3 meals a day. care for their children, medical attention where needed and personal counseling concerning health and welfare as well as in micro-finance so they may start a small business within the local markets in order to have a means to support themselves and their families.
Another woman we found was living alone with her 10 year old son and her 16 year old daughter who also was born with severe mental and physical disabilities. Her husband left 10 years prior as the stress of the family situation became too great, this is very common for men to leave their families with several children and perhaps the husband and wife both have HIV and typically the wife is infected due to the husbands sexual misconduct outside the marriage.
This mother was forced to leave her daughter, that has no ability to walk or speak or move her own body in any way at all, only lay on the bed and stare at the ceiling,was locked in a room for 10-12 hours a day 5 days a week so she could go to a local farm and pick tomatoes and pay $10 for a bucket of them then take them to the market and sell them retail for a price of $14, a profit to her of maybe $4 a day.
When we found this woman i did not hesitate to make certain that she came to the project. Now her children are cared for including her daughter and she was given a small loan in order to expand her business at the market and increase her profit .No longer in a constant depression over her life's situation now she has hope for herself and hope for her children and it only took finding her and spending a little money and giving from one's heart in order to make a difference.
Another woman we found was living alone with no husband or children or any family members to care for her. She can't tell us her age as she does not remember when she was born but we gauged her after many questions to be about 85 years old. She was living in a small room made of mud living in dirt and filth with no means of providing for for herself or even pay the $4/ month for rent. She was forced to walk the streets and beg for food and coins but with her badly swollen legs this was very difficult to do so she prayed to God for help but received no answer. Only the day before we found her she was preparing to poison herself in order to end this life of suffering. When we explained to her our plan to take her with us and care for her for her remaining years she just broke down and wept thinking that how she was about to take her own life that very evening.
These are only a few of the examples of the women and children we found, in total we are supporting about 20 individuals. The program for most will only last 90 days, just long enough to get them back on their feet and in an upward direction and after the 90 days we make certain they find affordable housing for themselves and their children and that their children stay in school and along with the various types of counseling they had received make sure they never find themselves in that previous situation ever again. In the case of the old woman and others like her we have plans to build a special building just for them to spend their remaining years. As for the others after the 90 days we will move a new group into the small homes and start the process over again.
The building of the homes was made possible through me and my organization yellowbluebus.inc
and in cooperation with a local NGO i have been working with for some years "TAMIHA.org"
each house costs about $500 USD to build and would house 2-5 people( mix of women and children) we currently have 5 houses built and have plans for 7 more houses as well as a building for the elderly and eventually a men's unit and perhaps very soon a modest church( so if a church would like to adopt us and help fund its build it could serve as your sister church) You would not believe how cheap it is to build here and the difference and the impact these things have within a community. I understand that with all success comes failure but if only 1 life was changed because of what i have done here then its worth all my effort. May Love be in your every footstep.
Please if your interested in sponsoring the building of a house we will put your name on it and you are more than welcome to come help build it i am only one man with a little bit of money but i need your help.
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