Daniel loves to play football (American soccer). His dream come true would be playing professionally for his favorite team, Manchester United. But, truth is, Daniel loves lots of things. Like dancing to gospel songs at LOHADA’s afternoon devotions. And eating rice pilau on special holidays. And learning about science at Camp Joshua School. Coming to…
Author: Robin Chenoweth
Charles
Charles aims high. Maybe it’s because he shares a name with a famous leader or two, but this 12-year-old aspires to be the prime minister of Tanzania. We say, the sky’s the limit. Charles likes to read — also a good skill for a prime minister — and likes to play basketball. Both are skills he can hone…
Gideon
Fifteen-year-old Gideon came to LOHADA when he was eight. He will be forever grateful, he says, because LOHADA taught him to read and speak English. He likes science and math so much that he wants to be a doctor. In his first year of high school, he is already making plans for when he graduates in 2023. Gideon is a fun-loving…
Debora
Each afternoon at Camp Joshua School, students participate in Bible study and devotions. Anyone who has attended can tell you, LOHADA Bible study rocks. The kids sing, play drums, dance and recite scripture. Debora, who is 10, considers this one of her favorite things about school. She hopes to one day become a nurse, as other classmates…
Lebahati
Lebahati is sponsored! Lebahati is from a Maasai village outside of Arusha. His name means “lucky boy.” Until he came to LOHADA, the seven-year-old might not have been so lucky. His parents are separated and Lebahati has been raised by a relative. Now he is a student at Camp Joshua School. He loves learning and applies his…
Rehema
Rehema has been sponsored! Rehema is like many seven-year-old girls. She’s lost her baby teeth, is learning to read, likes to eat french fries. But she comes from a very poor family, with a disabled father and lots of brothers and sisters. In a country like Tanzania, life can be especially hard for a kid like…
Angel T.
Angel has been sponsored! Angel is seven. She likes to go swimming, eat bread, play games with her classmates, things a typical kid likes to do. But because Angel is now enrolled at Camp Joshua School, her world is expanding. She’s learning to read and write in English and Swahili. She’s learning mathematics and science. She…
Abubakari
Abubakari has been sponsored! Abubakari, who is six, likes to read stories. And, luckily for him, he lives in a place where there are lots of books with lots of stories. Volunteers keep LOHADA centers well stocked with picture books, story books and classroom books, so that little Abubakari will always have something to read. LOHADA teachers…
Asumani
Asumani has been sponsored! Asumani is from Singida, a semi-arid region in central Tanzania that is prone to drought. He comes from a very large family and has never had the opportunity, until now, to go to school. Asumani, who is 10, will have some catching up to do. But he is eager to begin…
How to sponsor a child
Each child at LOHADA has a story. Some have been abandoned to the streets, left to beg for their survival. Others’ parents have died in childbirth, from AIDS, or have been murdered. LOHADA children urgently need personal sponsors to change the course of their lives. Life in a crowded and crime-filled slum can be truly…
Golden Grace Hospital
GOLDEN GRACE HOSPITAL opened in January 2017 in Shinyanga, a city in western Tanzania near the home of many LOHADA children. The ministry provides low-cost health care to people in the community, including obstetrics, vaccinations, malaria treatment, x-rays and dispensing of drugs. The hospital charges a nominal fee, about 25 cents, for an office visit and a small fee for…
Hope where there was none
According to UNICEF about 71 percent of Tanzanian children live in absolute poverty. More than 73 percent have been physically abused. LOHADA children have suffered the most extreme indigence — theirs are the worst-case scenarios. About a third have been orphaned or lost one parent, often to HIV-AIDS. Others have been abandoned to the streets…