Two years and a half ago I was blessed with the opportunity of traveling to Tanzania. I was located in the city of Arusha where I was welcomed by a beautiful community and taught for a period of time in a small school. It wasn't long after I started that I came to realize that children in this community are fed only once a day by government schools. But during the weekends and holidays they eat very little.
One of my weekends in Arusha, I went to feed the children of a very poor region of the city and playing and spending time with the kids, I noticed three boys that were isolated, skinny and sad.
Victor, Robert and Junior, ages 10, 9 and 6, have suffered physical, sexual and emotional abuse from their parents and siblings for years. These children have never been to a school and only eat once a week when they go to support centers on weekends and have severe cases of malnutrition and depression. The father has other families and rarely sees them and the mother works in a full-time butcher shop and is not present either. Neighbors and women that look after the children on Saturdays told me that in three years of knowing these brothers they have never seen them smile and the violence and mistreatment that they live in their home has turned them into very aggressive children. I asked Robert, the middle child, to guide me to his home and when I saw it I could not believe it. A room with a single bed for eight people, in terrible conditions. The whole home is undone and there is not a trace of food.
I began to get involved with this family's situation listening to different testimonies from neighbors and acquaintances, who only reaffirmed the sad situation of these three brothers. Looking for solutions to improve the situation of the brothers I decided that the best solution would be to sponsor their education for the rest of their lives in a boarding school where they will receive three meals a day and a good education since none of them can read or write. to guarantee their safety away from family abuse. Sadly the mother was more than happy to get rid of them.
One thing is poverty, sometimes poor people are the happiest, and a very different one is abuse, and a child who does not smile is not normal, it is unacceptable.
With the help of family and friends I collected funds to put the boys in a safe environment, in a good school near their hometown.
The brothers all started in the first level with the younger kids since they didn’t know how to read and write, they didn’t even know how to hold a pencil. They were shy and isolated from the kids the first weeks. And even though the kids don’t really know who I am I’ve been receiving updates every month with pictures and report cards. And a year and a half later the change is unbelievable. The kids are happy, and well fed and healthy. They have friends and are doing great in there academic development.
The results that come out of a small action is beyond our understanding. I need your help to give these boys once more a year of security, a year of education, of nutrition and joy. A year that will grant them infinite opportunities to strive for a happy future.
