2019-2020
ANNUAL REPORT for Walk in Love International
Our vision is to make sure that every child in Tanzania has an equitable chance to survive and thrive in a nurturing family environment.
1
Walk in Love Tanzania was established predominantly to
work in communities in Arusha and across Tanzania, Walk in
address the issue of children being removed from their
Love has identified that children are institutionalized through
families. A situation has arisen in Tanzania in which children
caregivers or family members; voluntarily giving them up as
under five are placed in institutions rather than being cared for
institutions are seen to offer better prospects; abandoning
by families, leading to children becoming institutionalized and
them as they cannot adequately take care of them; or being
to not reaching their full developmental potential. Through
deemed by the state to be unfit to safely care for them.
PAGE 3
PAGES 9-10
OUR VISION & MISSION
OUR HISTORY & MILESTONES
PAGE 4
PAGE 11
OUR VALUES & COMMUNITY
GLOBAL STATISTICS
PAGE 5
PAGE 13
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
IMPACT OF M AISHA M ATTERS
PAGE 6
PAGE 14
OUR INTERNATIONAL TEAM
TARGETS & OUTCOMES
PAGE 7
PAGE 15
OUR STORY & ROOTS
KEY AREAS OF FOCUS
PAGE 8
PAGE 16-18
2019 STATISTICS
Q& A WITH THE DIRECTOR
2
Our Vision
To provide vital resources to aid vulnerable families in elevatinag themselves out of poverty.
Every child in Tanzania has an equitable chance to survive and thrive in a nurturing family environment.
To empower the community to grow and develop through education and outreach.
Our Mission
To increase individual responsibility and decrease
Working with families and communities to give every child
To lead the transformation in the framework of
reliance on outside assistance.
under five in Tanzania the opportunity to reach their potential, especially focusing on the first thousand days of life.
care for vulnerable children from orphanage-based care to family-based care.
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND PROGRAMS
SCHOOL SPONSORSHIPS AND ONGOING SUPPORT
At Walk in Love we are working with single
Our focus is on Women’s Empowerment,
The Walk in Love ‘Believe in Me’ program is
parents, parents of children in orphanages
Advocacy and Community Health. All of
designed to help lift people out of desperate
and parents in poverty to provide the much
these areas are interwoven with the daycare
poverty in Arusha. The aim of this program
needed resource of quality, affordable, local
project and school sponsorship. It is our vision
is to give severely under privileged children a
early childhood education centers for children
that we will be a comprehensive, sustainable,
head start in life with help directly from our
ages 0 to 5 years. With the help of Walk In
empowering organization keeping families
team who identify children and/or families “at
Love, families can stay together and THRIVE.
and communities at the heart of our mission.
risk” due to health and wellness in poverty.
Stories of Resilience We give life-saving support to children that will permanently allow families to move out of poverty. We have families referred to our programs daily to apply for our preschool. We’ve heard so many stories of the struggle and resilience of our community. One thing is for sure, our programs are meeting a huge need! Now is the time for you to join us- we need your support more than ever.
3
Aligned to Give Children a CHANCE We are working with single parents, parents of children in
to 5 years. With our help, families can stay together and thrive.
orphanages and parents in poverty to provide the much needed
We give initial life-saving support that will permanently allow
resource of quality, affordable, local daycare for children ages 0
them to move themselves out of poverty.
C
H
A
N
C
E
Child-Centered Approaches
Holistic Program Design
Addressing Core Issues
Nurturing Talented People
Collaborative Partnerships
Evidence-Based Impact
The Communities We Serve
4
DIRECTOR STATEMENT I am delighted to present the new national strategic plan for Walk in
Using this center, we intend to offer training to other day-
Love International. We as an organization have had a long journey
care and ECD providers in Arusha to also improve their qual-
to get to where we have reached. Though the road has not always
ity of service. The second strand of programming will aim
been easy, Walk in Love has maintained its overall organizational
to address the current government social welfare systems
strategy, which is to ensure that every child in Tanzania has an eq-
and structures. The third area of programming will encom-
uitable chance to survive and thrive in a nurturing family environ-
pass community outreach and will be primarily focused on
ment. With the desire to bring this vision into real focus and to plan
nutrition, health, and livelihoods for individual families. In
for a more sustainable future, this 2020-2022 Strategic Plan is an
addition to internal capacity building and more focused
expression of: who we are as an organization; where we want to go;
programming, the third strategic area of focus will be
and how we plan to improve lives across Tanzania.
our strategic partnerships. As the old saying goes: “If you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far,
Over the years, we have met so many children who never had the
walk together�. Over the coming years, we are committed
opportunity to lead a life out of poverty because they were denied
to strengthening and leveraging our strategic partner-
their fundamental rights. We have therefore made it our mission to
ships with other NGOs, Government agencies and donors
work with families and communities to give every child under five in
to ensure the greatest possible impact. As well as aligning
Tanzania the opportunity to reach their potential, especially focus-
with our counterparts in the USA and Uganda, Walk in
ing on the first thousand days of life. To date, the organization has
Love Tanzania hopes to forge strong links to partners in
worked with over 400 families across northern Tanzania. Programs
Tanga, Mwanza and Mbeya.
have reached an approximately 2,000 children in vulnerable situations. Since 2018, over 100 children have directly benefited from
The team at Walk in Love Tanzania would like to sincerely
essential support through the Walk in Love nutrition program. Over
thank all our supporters, partners and contributors past
the next three years we intend to really build on these successes by
and present. Without their passion and commitment, we
creating a sustainable organization with the systems, structures, and
would not be able to undertake the work that we do. We
staff to reach our goals.
are confident that together, we can continue the journey to a brighter future.
The intention is that our programs become strategically aligned to ensure that the organization as a whole is more efficient in creating impact. The core of the organization will be a single daycare center delivering high quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) services.
AUBREE PACKARD Founder & Executive Director
Aubree Packard 5
OUR INTERNATIONAL TEAM Walk in Love has to date been staffed by a dedicated team of 17 Tanzanian employees supported by international volunteers. Human resource has been concentrated around service delivery through daycare facilities. The intention is to expand the outreach and partner projects teams with qualified professionals in order to expand the reach and impact of the organization over the coming years.
AUBREE PACKARD
MATT & KELLY ERDMAN
LAUREN MUTH
F o u n de r & E xe c u t i v e D i r e c t o r
Ug a n da n C o -D i r e c t o rs
Cre a t i ve Bra n d Di rec t or
TARA SHUPE
SAMANTHA LEVI
MOYO EUSTANCE
H u ma n i t ar i an P h o t o g r a p h e r
H u m a n i t a r i a n P h o t o gra ph e r
Communi t y Deve lo pme nt Offi c e r
VICKY LAZARO
GLORIA
ZIADA
Assis tan t M an ag e r , M ai s h a M a t t e r s
Ki s o n g o C e n t e r , C o o k /Ma na ge r
Ma rk e t Ce nt e r, Co o k
RIZIKI
MORRIS
RASKINA
Ma r ket C e n t e r , N an n y
Ki s o n g o C e n t e r / M a r k et Cent e r, G u a r d/ G a r de n e r
Ma rk e t Ce nt e r, Na n ny
ROSE
MERY
RACHEL
Ma r ke t C e n t e r , M an ag e r
Ki s o n g o C e n t e r , N a n ny
K i s ongo Ce nt e r, Na n ny
RHITA MSUKANGURU T a nz a ni a n Co unt ry M anager
ELYNAJA SIMON Ma a s a i Ou t re a c h Coord inator
SAUDA Ma rk et Ce nt e r, Cleaner
JENNIFER K i s ongo Ce nt e r, N anny
THIS COULD BE YOU! I n t e rna t i ona l Volunteer
6
Supporting children who are raised by their family can be 10 times less expensive than placing them in an orphanage. On a world-wide scale, the money used to sustain the 8 million children placed in orphanages could support 80 million children in family-based care. 7
STAND WITH PURPOSE. WALK IN LOVE. Our story of purpose is to provide vital resources to aid vulnerable families in elevating themselves out of poverty. To empower the community to grow and develop through education and outreach. To increase individual responsibility and decrease reliance on outside assistance. To lead the transformation in the framework of care for vulnerable children from orphanage-based care to family-based care.
30 FA M I L I E S RECEIVED H E A LT H INSURANCE
47
268
BABIES RECEIVED L I F E - S AV I N G FORMULA
BENEFICIARIES OF MAISHA M AT T E RS
17
62
105
BUSINESSES C R E AT E D
BABIES CARED FOR IN THEIR OW N H O M E S
72
AT- R I S K CHILDREN AT T E N D E D O U R DAYC A R E S
WO R K S H O P S DELIVERED
FROM THE BEGINNING
TRANSFORMATIONS
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
The first thousand days (from conception)
Institutionalization of young children is
The Government of Tanzania is willing to
are the most important and formative in a
linked to poor outcomes in later life and
work collaboratively to improve the lives
child’s life. This is supported by a weight of
has been a target for aid agencies since the
of children by keeping them in families as
evidence from global research and is used
millennium8.
far as possible. This is evidenced by national
as a guiding principle by organizations such
policies including the Law of the Child Act
as UNICEF7.
and regulations for its enforcement9.
COLLABORATIONS
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Other organizations in the same space
Target
are willing to work collaboratively. This
benefit from strategies deployed by Walk
8 https://www.unicef.org/eca/sites/unicef.org.eca/
is supported by the willingness of several
in Love. This is supported by the move
files/2018-11/Key%20Results%20in%20Deinstitutionaliza-
organizations within Tanzania to develop
to programming which targets specific
memoranda of understanding with us.
communities and tracks outcomes.
communities
overlap
and
will
RESOURCES 7 https://www.unicef-irc.org/article/958-the-first-1000days-of-life-the-brains-window-of-opportunity.html
tion%20in%20Eeurope%20and%20Central%20Asia_0.pdf 9 https://tanzania.savethechildren.net/what-we-do/ child-rights-governance
8
TIMELINE
Our Milestones Walk in Love began as an entity in Tanzania but has since
was registered to spread impact to the rest of East Africa.
added a 501(c) entity in the USA to enable fundraising and
The organizations are controlled by three separate boards
donor relations to take place. In 2019 Walk in Love Uganda
operated under their own memoranda of association.
2005
2008
2011
The Beginning
Gaining Awareness
Looking for Answers
Aubree’s first trip to Tanzania was as
Aubree, who holds a degree in Child
After speaking with the orphanages
a volunteer in 2005 where she was
and Family Development, started
about trying to work together to
living at an orphanage and teaching
volunteering as a Preschool teacher
help reunify and ideally keep kids out
at the government high school in
at several of the Western run
of the orphanages all together, she
Buswelu, a small village outside of
orphanages. At this time she realized
was told that there were too many
Mwanza. Several trips back and forth
that the majority of the children at
obstacles involved in trying to keep
to Tanzania eventually led to the ‘big’
the orphanages were not orphans
children in their families. They stated
move to Arusha with her husband,
at all; they had families. They had
their only job was to care for the
Jason, in 2012.
families who desperately wanted to
children that came to them.
be reunited.
9
Walk in Love has explored a range of interventions aimed
• Service Delivery – Operating daycare and early childhood
at supporting vulnerable families to meet the needs of
facilities on a continuous basis using a subsidized social
their children. This has ranged from direct aid in terms
enterprise model.
of nutritional supplements and social worker visits, to
• Outreach Programs – Working with families and
training and capacity building on livelihoods and enterprise.
communities to support the immediate and long term
Historically, the organization has also supported children
needs of their children.
and families with financial sponsorship for education and
• Partner Projects – Working with partner organizations to
medical needs, but it is intended that this type of support
generate long term systemic improvements to social care
be phased out by 2022. Moving forward, the organization
for children and families.
intends to differentiate between three areas of operation:
2012
2017
2019
Hands-On Approach Expanding Resources Serving Families With this, Aubree decided to start
In 2017, Aubree was joined by
To date, Walk in Love International
her own NGO with a mission to keep
Matthew and Kelly Erdman
has worked with over 400
children in their families by providing
who joined as on-site directors.
families across northern Tanzania.
home based support. Walk in Love
The Erdmans realized that what
Their programs have reached an
International’s first Community and
was desperately needed was a
approximate 2,000 children in
early childhood education center
program to provide the resources
vulnerable situations. Since 2018, over
opened in early 2013. This was the first
to overcome the barriers to
100 children have directly benefited
Daycare center of its kind and a very
family unity and outreach to
from essential support through the
foreign idea in Tanzania, but Aubree
prevent children from being
Walk in Love nutrition program.
knew it was at least part of the
institutionalized in the first place.
solution to keep families together.
10
GLOBAL STATISTICS
TANZANIAN STATISTICS
In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched
With more than ten million children aged between 0-5 years in
and have since formed the framework for global development
Tanzania, both the opportunity, and the challenge, to give children the
interventions. Covering 17 key areas of focus, the goals include targets
best start to life takes on unprecedented importance. The population
and indicators for social, economic and environmental sustainability
of children aged 0-14 in Tanzania is 45%, with 20% aged 15-24, making
by 2030. The work of Walk in Love falls under SDG Target 4.2: “By
Tanzania a ‘youth bulge’ country. There are approximately 8.7 million
2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early
children under 8 years old (20% of the population). Such a profile
childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they
means that quality of coverage of health and education services for
are ready for primary education”. Particularly pertinent to this is
young children remains low, ultimately impacting their ability to
indicator 4.2.1: “Proportion of children under 5 years of age who are
reach development milestones3. It is estimated that 74% of children
developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-
aged 0-17 years in Tanzania live in multidimensional poverty, and in
being”. In terms of performance against this target at a global level,
rural areas this percentage rises to 81%4.
the participation rate in early childhood and primary education was 70 per cent in 2016, up from 63 per cent in 2010. The lowest global rates
Overall, poverty remains a strong predictor of educational disadvantage
of 41% are however found in sub-Saharan Africa1. A large contributor
for all children. Among school aged children, the relationship to the
to the under development of children is considered to be malnutrition.
head of the household is also a strong predictor for whether they
The greatest burden of all forms of malnutrition is shouldered by
attend school or not. Children whose parents are the head of the
children and young people from the poorest and most marginalized
household are most likely to attend school, but children still have high
communities, perpetuating poverty across generations2.
rates of school attendance in households headed by grandparents and foster parents. School attendance declines for children who live in households headed by siblings, spouses, other relatives, and non-relatives5. There is a large number of children living either with elderly relatives who are unable to care for them appropriately, or in child-headed households. These children are most at risk as they are
Resources 1 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg4 2 https://www.unicef.org/media/63016/file/SOWC-2019.pdf 3 https://www.childrenincrossfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CiC-
There is often little follow up on their school attendance, and many survive on only one meal a day, and cannot afford medical attention. Children cared for informally are not registered with social services
Tanzania-Strategic-Plan-2018-2021.pdf
and therefore do not have access to assistance and support. There are
4 https://www.statista.com/statistics/455940/urbanization-in-tanzania/
few processes in place for formalizing or monitoring informal care,
5 https://www.fhi360.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/Tanzania_ Vulnerability.pdf
11
deprived of their rights to education, food, health and parental care.
and without effective family strengthening or preventative services to
6 https://bettercarenetwork.org/sites/default/files/A%20Snapshot%20
support informal care, vulnerable children are put at even greater risk
of%20Alternative%20Care%20Arrangment %20in%20Tanzania.pdf
of neglect, exploitation and abuse6.
48 We have now served more than four dozen families through our work in the 2018-2019 year alone. 12
Growing with Maisha Matters
13
Maisha Matters provides life saving nutrition to malnourished
provide for their families. It is a one year program. We start with
children, formula milk to infants so they can stay with their
a malnourished child in a family struggling to stay together, and
families, weekly training, crisis support and business start up to
end with an empowered family, ready to provide for their future.
Nutrition
Crisis Support
Training
We start with the most
We provide families with
We provide weekly education
immediate need, by providing
emergency items which
and training in hygiene, child
life saving formula milk to the
immediately increases their
development, HIV/AIDS and
severely malnourished baby who
quality of life. These are mosquito
malaria prevention, primary
has not received the nutrition
nets, mattresses, blankets, clothes
health care.
they need.
and cooking equipment.
Empowerment
Independence
Giving Life
We work with families to help
Working closely with families
Maisha means Life and we believe
them set up a business in their
makes it possible for them to look
Life Matters. The Maisha Matters
community. With ongoing
after their own children into the
Arusha program is in partnership
income, the family can provide
future. We give families a hand up
with Forever Angels, Mwanza.
for themselves.
so they can be free from poverty.
OUTCOME 1
Families and foster families across Tanzania able to support the developmental needs of children under five.
OUTPUT 1.1
TA RGET GOA L 1.1
Caregivers supported to provide nutritional support to children.
By 2022, 50,000 children and mothers provided access to micronutrients.
OUTPUT 1.2
TA RGET GOA L 1.2
Caregivers accessing livelihoods support.
By 2022, 75 caregivers provided access to livelihoods support.
OUTPUT 1.3
TA RGET GOA L 1.3
Foster care system in place to support children.
By 2022, 15 foster families being piloted in the Arusha Region.
OUTCOME 2
Communities in Arusha have safe and appropriate Early Childhood Development (ECD) facilities for children under five.
OUTPUT 2.1
TA RGET GOA L 2.1
Caregivers are encouraged to seek ECD services
By 2022, 150 caregivers provided training in the importance of ECD.
OUTPUT 2.2
TA RGET GOA L 2.2
Walk in Love ECD day care centers are available.
By 2022, 50 children catered for at the Walk in Love ECD center.
OUTPUT 2.3
TA RGET GOA L 2.3
Other providers are delivering ECD services.
By 2022, 1,000 children accessing enhanced daycare services.
OUTCOME 3
The Social Welfare System in Arusha is active in supporting families to meet the developmental needs of children under five.
OUTPUT 3.1
TA RGET GOA L 3.1
Public and private social worker forums exist.
By 2022, 50 members regularly engaged through a centralized forum.
OUTPUT 3.2
TA RGET GOA L 3.2
Social welfare has a consolidated database.
By 2022, 1,000 children recorded and tracked on a centralized database.
OUTPUT 3.3
TA RGET GOA L 3.3
Social welfare has strategic partnerships.
By 2022, 3 strategic partnerships brokered by Walk in Love.
OUTCOME 4
Walk in Love has appropriate systems, structures, and staff in place to sustainably support its mission.
OUTPUT 4.1
TA RGET GOA L 4.1
Compliant financial and legal structures.
By 2022, thorough financial and policy audits conducted annually.
OUTPUT 4.2
TA RGET GOA L 4.2
Sustainable resources (financial, human, and capital).
By 2022, at least 50% of program funding provided from donations.
OUTPUT 4.3
TA RGET GOA L 4.3
Robust planning and ME&L systems.
By 2022, ME&L systems and program planning undertaken annually.
14
NOW AN OFFICIAL 501(C)3
Financial Report In 2019 Walk in Love had an operating budget of approximately $100,000. This was generously donated by supporters predominantly based in the USA. Of the support received, approximately 50% has been from regular monthly donations. Other sources include crowd sourcing websites, fundraising events and grant funding for individual projects.
Key Areas of Focus To consolidate the relevant and effective interventions currently undertaken by implementing detailed planning, monitoring, evaluation & learning.
To engage in formal stakeholder engagement and partnership agreements to enable Walk in Love to avoid mission creep and become more effective in its identified niche.
To build the systems, structures and staff of Walk in Love Tanzania such that the organization is in a strong position to deliver robust and sustainable impacts.
This
the
This objective seeks to address the ecosystem
This objective is aimed at strengthening the internal
organization to become more impactful in consistent
objective
highlights
the
desire
of
surrounding the organization and the requirement
processes within the organization to allow for
external support to the communities, families and
to set stable parameters for reciprocal relationships
compliance and accountability of governance and
individuals with whom the organization works.
and engagement.
decision making.
• Clear scope and parameters for needs assessment
• Leveraging existing supporters
• Review of governance structures
• Detailed planning and monitoring methods
• Creating strategic partnerships
• Policy reviews and development
• Recruitment of skilled project staff
• Engaging with stakeholders
• Hiring specialist local consultants • Using network of skilled volunteers
15
TAKING THE FIRST STEP WITH AUBREE PACKARD, FOUNDER WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOUR TEAM? An average day for our team on the ground in
malnourished patients. Each session will hold 20-30
Tanzania will start with a morning mental check up.
families. Each child will be weighed, the caregivers
It is important that we support each other and know
will be given food and have the opportunity have a
how the others are handling certain situations. We
counseling session.
will then contact different hospitals, social workers and community leaders to ask if they have any new
During counseling, they can talk about their lives, any
families that would benefit from our services.
recent good or bad events, what they need and where they are seeing improvements. After every family has had a check up we move onto a training session.
many severely malnourished children were not being
These 30-minute sessions can be about health, child
referred to us before it was too late for them to make
development, parenting, business or anything the
a recovery. This way we can meet a malnourished
families can told us they what to know more about.
child and support them in recovery before the
These training sessions are meant to educate the
malnutrition gets too severe. We will also ask about
caregivers but they are also meant for the caregivers
any infants whose mothers have passed away. This
to go back to their communities and education their
way we can be the first organization to reach out to
neighbors.
Q&A
We started doing this daily once we realized how
the families and give them hope. We found that if we wait too long the new born infants will be transferred
After training we will head out for home visits. When
into orphanages without the family knowing that we
a family first starts out program we aim for 2 home
could provide formula and support if they want to
visits per month. Home visits are a great time for our
keep the baby.
staff to get to know the families on personal level. We laugh, we cry, we are all vulnerable and we connect.
We believe in a very proactive approach because if
We can learn so much about a families living situation
we sit back and wait for referrals the old way of doing
and if it has changed by visiting their homes. Most of
things will never change. We will then follow up on
the time we can see improvements but we can also
any referrals. This usually involves meeting families in
see if something is wrong and the family needs more
local government hospitals. We do an initial interview
support. Home visits are vital for the families to trust
to hear their stories make sure they meet our criteria.
us so we can help them to the fullest extent.
If they meet the criteria we will admit them into the program or programs that fit their needs.
Every Friday our staff spends time at the daycare centers supporting staff and interacting with the kids.
After we have made our phones calls and followed up
They will also do home visits with daycare families to
on any families that need our programs we prepare
make sure they are also seeing improvements from
for our formula and food distribution. We hold this
the opportunity to send their children to daycare so
twice a week at our center and once a week at local
they can work.
hospitals where they have a high percentage of
16
TELL US ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE STORIES.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN A FAMILY FIRST COMES TO YOU?
One of my favorite stories is the story of Princess and
When a family is referred to us we will meet them
Prickett. When I was a volunteer preschool teacher at
when they are ready. The first meeting we simply
an orphanage in 2012, I met two tiny babies. They were
listen to their stories and by the end we know if
premature and weighed only 3 lbs. On my off time I
they meet the criteria to be admitted into one
would go and hold them and feed them. When I was
of our programs. During the first meeting we
home I would worry about them, if they were being fed
typically only learn about the tip of the iceburg.
every three hours, if they would survive the night.
Malnutrition is a symptom of something deeper but the families usually starting really opening up
Their lives were so fragile yet they survived. During
once they can see their children getting healthier
my time at the orphanage I got to know Princess and
and that’s when the real work begins.
Pricketts’ Aunt Glory. She was a single parent with two boys at home. She didn’t have an income but she wanted nothing more than to take the girls home with her. On my last day at the orphanage I said goodbye to the girls and Glory, not expecting to see them again.
WHAT IS IT LIKE RUNNING AN INTERNATIONAL NON-PROFIT? Running an international non-profit means that I am always learning and adapting our programs to
During my time at the orphanage I could see what it
fit the need so of the communities we work with.
truly was- a band aid. It wasn’t solving anything, it was
At any given time I am enrolled in a leadership,
merely covering it up. Child were still brought in weekly
strategy, management, health, education or donor
because of poverty or because their mothers had died.
relations course.
Yet, no one was was asking them if they needed support
grows I learn to grow and adapt with it so I never
at home or what they could do to help prevent this high
stay idol. I am constantly tweaking and adapting
maternal death rate. They turned their backs on the
to fit each families needs. No two families are alike
families and placed babies into institutions.
and its important to us that we don’t leave any
As Walk in Love International
families behind. I could no longer witness these human rights violations; I had to do something. A day after I signed the lease for
As we grow it will be more difficult to make sure
our first Walk in Love daycare center I got call from
each individual families needs are met but we are
Glory. She had taken the girls home but she soon realized
focused on hiring the right staff and supporting
that she could not afford to feed them and she couldn’t
staff in a way that they never lose touch with the
work with two babies in her care. She told me she was
people we serve. This pandemic has shown us that
bringing the girls back and asked if I could help. Princess
we must keep thinking out side of the box. What we
and Prickett started the next day at our daycare.
did before COVID-19 came to Tanzania no longer works. Running an international organization is
17
We didn’t have a single toy or piece of furniture. Glory
very challenging but at the end of the day it is
was our first women in our tailoring program and we
worth it. It is worth it to know that what we are
never looked back. Princess and Prickett were never
doing is saving lives, changing lives and giving
put back into the orphanage and Glory made sure every
communites they chance and tools they need to be
night there was food on the table. Glory since remarried,
successful. Once we know better, we do better and
had two more beautiful babies and is living a good life.
that I how I run Walk in Love.
Q&A
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR NEXT STEPS FOR GROWTH? Our next steps are growth are to find partners in Tanzania and the United States. In Tanzania, our goal is to grow and reach new regions where, according to our needs assessments, people who do not have access to the kinds of service we are offering. Every child deserves chance to reach their full potential and we believe that we can reach more children if we can enter into strategic partnerships all over Tanzania. Our growth on the U.S. side involves board members and partnerships. In order for us to reach more children we need to reach more donors, we need volunteers to spread the word, we need professionals to advise us in our programs. We need a solid board of active and involved directors who are passionate about children not being left behind.
HOW CAN FOLLOWERS AND ADVOCATES GET INVOLVED? Talk to people about what we are doing. Learn more about what we are doing and why. Our goal is help give children the families the services they need. Once they can reach their potential, they can break the cycle of poverty for their families, they can have voice, they can make change in their country’s policies. They can change the world for children who come after them. We are not about a quick fix, we are about a sustainable and life-long change for generations to come.
Resource Conducted via email from Studio Humankind (Lauren Muth, Creative Brand Director) to Walk in Love International (Aubree Packard, Founder) on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
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walkinlovetanzania@gmail.com | www.walkinloveinternational.org