Future project orphanage / school

Building a children's home and a school

Our future project

During our stays in Boma Ng’ombe, Tanzania, which have meanwhile been repeated several times, we have intensively exchanged ideas with authorities, social workers and other volunteers and gained a concrete picture of living conditions in Tanzania, social structures, cooperation with authorities and the effects of legal requirements. The work of Weltherz e.V. consists of several stages and is intended to provide a better future for the children and adolescents in the “Hope Home Orphanage and Children’s Centre”.

Construction of a new orphanage and children’s centre in Chalinze

In addition to the ongoing support of the Hope Home in the daily expenses, the financing of the new construction of an institution for orphans and street children for Welherz has a particularly high priority. The new building is necessary because the house in which the Hope Home is currently rented does not offer enough space for all children. Sarah and Joseph therefore have to reject more and more needy children due to state requirements. In addition, the leases are usually limited to one year. Since the founding of the orphanage, Sarah and Joseph have had to move with the children more than 20 times, which always tears the children from their familiar surroundings.
In cooperation with Sarah and Joseph as well as the local social and youth welfare office, Weltherz wants to create a new home for the children who are already living in the Hope Home and have not found a suitable foster family, where they can grow up child-friendly and sheltered. In addition, an outdoor area is planned for a kitchen garden and a small cattle breeding area to provide the Hope Home with sustainable self-sufficiency and a small source of income.
During our last stay in August 2019 we found what we were looking for: Weltherz has acquired a 25,000 square meter property in Chalinze with the donations received so far. Chalinze is a town in the east of the country, about 100 kilometres from Tanzania’s largest city Dar es Salaam. The property is connected to the road network, a hospital and a school are nearby. In this region, the orphanage is also accepted by the authorities because the proportion of needy and orphans is particularly high. In contrast, in the Kilimanjaro region, which is very popular with tourists and where the children currently live, more and more orphanages are being closed by the government. Therefore we cannot create a permanent and secure home for the children and young people there. A move is therefore the only remaining possibility for the well-being of the children. Together with social workers and the Youth Welfare Office, Joseph and Sarah have identified the new building in Chalinze and the move with the children there as the best solution.

New home for up to 25 children and adolescents

The property will initially be supplied with water and electricity. At the same time, Weltherz has already started with the construction planning. A first construction plan was prepared by a Tanzanian architect. We now work together with German civil engineers and architects who support us free of charge to finalize the plans.
The plans include an orphanage with capacity for 20 to 25 children and teenagers. There will be enough bedrooms and sanitary facilities for both the children and the carers, as well as a lounge and a learning room with enough tables for reading and learning. Kitchen and dining area will be in a separate building

Construction of a school

In the region of Chalinze there are only a few schools and so far no private schools. Therefore, Weltherz has already considered the possibility to extend the orphanage with a school. With an attached school we can not only cover the needs for a proper school education, but also secure the financing of the orphanage. By having our own school, we save the school fees that would be incurred anyway for the children of the Hope Home; at the same time, income flows from the school fees of other children from the region. In this way, the school is supposed to cover the monthly expenses for the maintenance of the Hope Home and the school, so that the Hope Home is no longer dependent on donations in the future.

At the school, Weltherz wants to ensure quality education, appropriate class sizes, motivated teachers with good English skills and sufficient school materials. We also want to make it possible to award scholarships to children from poor families. In addition, educational and educational programmes for the inhabitants of the Chalinze region are conceivable in the future school building.