As of April 2013, Majengo supports a total of 134 children between the ages of 3 and 16 years, including 77 children living inside the orphanage with all their basic needs: accommodation, food, education, medical, clothing and love, and another 37 children living outside the orphanage, with their education and medical needs. Children under the age of 7, are drawn from the Majengo district neighbourhood once a space comes up in the on-sit pre-school…these kids live out with family or friends, but are chosen from the most vulnerable in the community. At age 7 they move on to government primary schools, but will be supported, throughout their school and trade years with education and medical needs, by our Majengo family.
The Majengo children are selected for us by local Majengo District village leaders, who are intimately familiar with the community, each family and its financial situation. Many of the children have lost one or both parents to HIV AIDS or come from families with caretakers too sick or too poor to provide their most basic needs.
The Majengo children range from being orphaned as a result of HIV AIDS to coming from separated families where one or both parents have left the home, leaving aging grandparents and aunties to look after their children - some with many children of their own to support. Majengo is an agricultural community, comprised mainly of farmers earning their living as day laborers, growing bananas and other fruits, vegetables, raising livestock, cows, goats and chickens. In many cases these caretakers, unable to look after the children during the day, ask for assistance from village leaders, who eventually bring the most vulnerable children to Majengo.
Majengo’s approach respects the preference of the Tanzanian government to place children into homes with family, friends or relatives living within the community, wherever possible. The children living inside the orphanage have literally no one on the outside able or capable to care for them.
MAJENGO on-site PRE SCHOOL:
Our on-site pre-school of 30 children at Majengo offers a wonderful, full day program for children under the age of 7, both living-in Majengo, and for living-out children recommended by local leaders as the most vulnerable and poor in the community. Living-out pre-schoolers arrive early in the morning till dinnertime, enjoying art, English, math, reading, writing classes, with 2 meals, naps, and playtime with our living-in children. As pre-schoolers reach the age of 7, they are enrolled in local primary schools outside the orphanage, leaving desired spaces at our Majengo pre-school for new children to be enrolled. Our pre-schoolers, after participating for two or three years in excellent classroom study with Majengo teachers Grayson, Matilda and Eva, invariably score the top spots in local primary school classes.
Ongoing: primary, secondary, high school…trade or university…
We are fully committed to providing each one of the Majengo children the means and opportunity to attend 7 years of primary school ($50 annually), and if their marks allow, 4 years of secondary school (at $650 annually), 2 years of high school ($650. annually) and on to trade school (nursing, teaching, electrical and plumbing, etc.), or university.
This picture is of Baby Anna. She was brought to us in January, 2011, by the police, because both parents had gone. At 9 months, she had the body of a 3 month old child, was starving and given 3 days to live. Hadija, our head cook, took her home every night into her own large family, and by day, Anna ate continuously at Majengo. Today, Anna thrives as the youngest member at the orphanage.
SPONSOR A CHILD: we have just set up a sponsorship program for donors who choose to sponsor one child of their choice, for $700. per year. Of course this money goes to support all of the children, but in each case, the sponsor will receive regular updates, pictures and histories of their child. Anyone interested in this program should click on the “How you can Help” section of our website.
