Mother of Mercy Orphanage

The Mother of Mercy Orphanage provides food, shelter, and care to over 100 children in Madale Village, located in the city of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. Sister Christina founded this orphanage in 2009 to alleviate the problem of neglected children roaming the streets of Madale. The stories of the children entering into the care of Sister Christina and this orphanage vary widely. Many were abandoned by their parents as infants, left to the elements of nature and found by community members. Others were brought by authorities to the orphanage after being found in neglected households. Some were even brought by impoverished parents, reaching out for help to care for their children. Of the 104 children served, 64 of the live at the orphanage year round. Unfortunately, the orphanage relies solely on donations and contributions from the Madale community and does not receive any other sponsorships. Providing over 100 children with food, housing, schooling, and much more is incredibly difficult while being reliant on only an impoverished community for funding. This fundraiser aims to help this orphanage with a number of current projects, including a plan to become more economically independent. My goal, in partnership with the NGO Art in Tanzania, is to raise $10,000 for four main focus areas.

First, is to provide funding for the orphanage to finish the construction of shops along the street in front of their plot of land. This would allow Sister Christina and the other orphanage leaders to charge rent to shopkeepers and, in turn, provide a source of income for future necessities.

Second, is to provide funding to finish the construction of a second building of dormitories to increase infrastructure for sleeping and properly accommodating all children. Currently, the young boys and girls are sleeping in one building where they are required to share very small bunk beds, incredibly tiny restrooms, and poor storage spaces. The orphanage has slowly been constructing a second building to provide more housing for the children, however, the construction has frequently been halted due to the lack of funds and the immediate needs of the children. Part of this funding would go towards the construction of this building.

Third, is to provide funds to build more furniture for the children to store their belongings and to sleep. Currently, there are not any closets, chests, or storage units for the young children to store their clothes, shoes, teddy bears, etc. This means that many of the children just pile their few belongings along walls as they make their 20-minute trek to the main orphanage compound every morning. Funding to build new furniture for the children would allow them to create a stronger sense of permanence and help to cultivate the a greater sense of community and “home". It would also help alleviate conflict between children about objects, teach them about the importance of boundaries, and make everyday living much easier.

Fourth, is to provide funding to help cover the costs of food, medication, and other daily expenses. The largest task this orphanage faces on a daily basis is feeding 104 children, all at varying levels of development. From infants to young teenagers, the orphanage provides food in whatever way possible. Many of these children are challenged with mental and physical disabilities, and disease. For instance, in Tanzania, one in twenty individuals are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. These children are included in that statistic. Many children require specialized medications and diets to remain healthy, which the orphanage struggles to provide with the funding from this community alone. While any funding related to this area would only be temporary, and the infrastructural goals listed above are more permanent, this is the area of greatest need for the orphanage.

Any donation can make an incredible impact for the 104 children of this orphanage. For instance, 5 USD is equivalent to 11,875 T-Shillings, enough money to buy 4-5 meals if properly spent. All funding from this GoFundMe will be transferred directly to Art in Tanzania, an NGO that has been serving the community of Madale Village since 1996. The NGO will then use the funding directly for these projects and/or send portions of the funding directly to the orphanage.