AMANI’S CHILDREN CENTER

Amani was born in the Olokii village of Arusha, of the Maasai who are known as “fierce warriors”. Why? Because of the hardships of their livelihood and their strength and endurance through all trials. They are nomads and rely on products from the farming of crops and animals. Unfortunately, in recent years, rains have not returned to this part of East Africa and the crops have had low yields. With the market for animals and crops on the low end, no money can be earned, and living is almost impossible. Within Tanzania, there is little to no government funding for education, and the only school near Amani’s village lies almost entirely out of reach. Not to mention, most students cannot afford school materials or uniforms. Additionally, the education does not provide English instruction to students, making the reality of attending high school or university difficult.

The women, in families that cannot afford to send multiple children to school, are asked to stay home and fetch water from the well or gather fire wood. These women will never know the inside of a classroom. Yet, studies have shown that children of mothers who has had five years of primary education are 40% more likely to live beyond the age of five. However, awareness of an issue cannot bring about a solution on its own. Because, without money, without volunteers, progress is difficult. Fortunately, Amani, who rose from these conditions, has a mission to provide for his community at all costs. For almost two and a half years, Amani has worked to build a school for children of his village and after two years of construction, the children are now three months into their first year of education!

Currently, Kipok Africa (the organization under which the school is founded), is working to sponsor a nursery and continue sponsoring primary education for children within the village. Now, we are asking you, yes you, for your help.

Currently, we have no sponsors and are asking for donations to allow us to hire more teachers. We are also asking for funds to allow us to construct a bathroom for the children and to fund the addition of new classrooms to facilitate the development of a nursery. Most importantly, we are asking for sponsorships to allow us to continue running and providing porridge for the children so they may learn longer each day. We need to continue to grow and expand. Amani states, “It isn’t about me, it’s about the impact for the children and the community as a whole. It’s about the bigger picture.”

WE ARE LOOKING FOR:  Volunteers, donors, and sponsors to help our  students continue their education by enabling us to allocate more funds to students and invest in construction projects that serve for the betterment of our students and their education.

As our students mature, there will be a need for more classrooms, more restroom facilities, and improvements to our kitchen and current structure.

Additionally, we are eager for our students to have an education like that offered in the public education system. Currently, our classes begin at approximately 7:30 and end at 12:00. It is because our students must return home as there is no lunch provided. We are striving to have classes until 3:30, with sports and music classes in the evenings so our students can learn other skills and also spend time recalling what they’ve learnt in the morning. The extra time will also allow our children to practice their English language skills with their peers and volunteers. Learning English will help them break the language barrier when they venture outside the village as they grow older.

We are looking for volunteers who are willing to contribute to our mission; those who are willing to play with the kids after lunch even once or twice a week. We are looking for individuals who are willing to live in the village with our students and grow and learn from them as reciprocally, we hope our children will do. 

We are searching for volunteers to assist in the development of our center and those who can implement extracurricular programs like athletics and music or performance arts. We highly encourage volunteers to take everything they remember from their school experience, see what’s missing here, and add their experiences. No teaching experience is required, all that we ask is that our volunteers have a love for children and a knack and a heart for service. Volunteers are allowed to design performance projects that encompass vocal, dance, instrumental, acting, and beyond. Although we cannot guarantee funding for all projects, we welcome volunteers to share their ideas with the head of the school and those in charge of our program.

We have built a house specially for the volunteers within the Olokii village. The house is located within the village as we want our volunteers to have a unique immersion experience with the families in the village and really connect with the students at the school. However, we do understand the desire to venture to town on occasion and a free car service will be provided for our volunteers. Through the weekends, volunteers can stay in town and explore the city of Arusha and its offerings.